Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness
by reaper00140
Summary: The first Disgaea game from the point of view of one of the many characters you can create. Full summary inside. Chapter 9 is now up!
1. Chapter 1

_This Fic is composed of about 50% action, 40% bad jokes, 8% prinny explosions and about 2% other_

Full Summary: A young thief named Fleck is living a semi regular life in the netherworld village of Junktown. His life, along with that of his long time friend/prinny sidekick, Vic will take a drastic change down the road of insanity with the awakening of the late Overlords son.

PS: No actual demons were harmed in the making of this fic, the same can NOT be said for the prinny portion of the staff.

"oooohhhhhh Myyyyyy GOOOOOOOD!" Fleck ran through the crumbling walls of the castle, dodging every arrow and fireball sent at him. "This is insane! I'm a thief, I'm not supposed to go to the front line!" Fleck dove and rolled underneath a small section of wall, using it as cover. He adjusted his red and white striped hat, his short, dirty blond hair was frayed at the edges. Fleck breathed heavily as he heard the chanting of spells and the sound of metal clashing against metal. "Isn't the first day on the job supposed to be easy?" He whined. When the fighting and yelling died down, Fleck poked his head out. _"Is it over?"_ He was answered by a charred body of one of the enemy soldiers.

"All Right!! This area is clear!! Everyone charge in!" a high pitched, yet somehow intimidating voice echoed across the large room that had been turned into a warzone. Fleck looked up and recognized the two long strings of hair that stretched out like antennas, and the long flowing red scarf.

"_Prince Laharl…He's going to be the death of me, I know it!"_ Clutching his sword, Fleck, at the urging of the others in his squad, followed him into the castle.

Ch1: HELP WANTED

_The Netherworld…a veritable cesspool of corruption and greed, the prime gathering place for crooks, murderers, thieves and just about any other kind of word that you could use to describe an "unpleasant individual"._

_Junk Town: A particularly worn down part of the netherworld. It's a giant amalgam of discarded metal, weapons, building materials, and machinery. Very few pass through here, and even fewer live here for very long. Like the balance of power, the residents change erratically. All except one…_

"Come back here you dirty rat!!" a large suit of armor with flames roaring out of its head raised its sword in the air and chased after a young boy. He wore a red and white striped hat that covered most of his dirty blond hair. He had a green shirt, brown shorts, and brown leather shoes. A small pouch of (stolen) money jingled in his hand.

"Suck on it! If you can even keep track of your own money you don't deserve the title of Dark Knight!" the boy stuck his tongue out and sped up.

"When I catch you, you'll wish you were never born!!" The armor called out.

"That's what they always say…" Fleck jumped to the side and into a small hole, one of several he had dug in the junkpile that was his home town. He had memorized every tricky passage and turn in the entire town.

"NO!" The dark night reached his hand down into the whole after Fleck but couldn't fit. He slammed his fist on the ground in frustration.

"1200, 1300…1350!? He only has 1350HL!?" Fleck exclaimed as he walked down the street to his house. "This won't even last the week!" Fleck complained. "_Knowing _her_, probably not even till tomorrow."_ Fleck sighed and looked at his watch. "Crap, I'm late. She's gonna throw a fit if I stay out any longer." Fleck's pace increased to slow trot as he neared his door.

"Sis! Gwen! I'm back!" Fleck called in as he entered. A hand reached out from the couch waving him in.

"What took you so long!" She yelled, drunkenly. Unlike Fleck, who was a thief, Gwen was a Nekomata. She had pale skin and brown eyes. She had red hair on her head and her green fur grew in a way that resembled a revealing swimsuit.

"Please don't tell me you went through the whole case again…We just bought that last week!" He said. He looked around. "Hey, where's Vic?"

"Right here, Dood!" a small wing extended from underneath a white sheet with several beer bottles on top.

"Hold still! Table don't move." Gwen said.

"You're using him as a table now? Isn't that a little…inefficient?" Fleck asked, taking a seat next to his sister.

"Not if he stays perfectly still…"

"So how was your work, Dood?" Vic asked, still under the sheet.

Gwen clamped his beak shut with her hand. "Tables don't talk either."

"See for yourself, got it off a dark knight." Fleck tossed the small pouch onto the center table. Gwen opened it and counted.

"1350HL!? This won't last us the week!" Gwen yelled.

"That's what I said."

"Gyaahhh! Can't anyone in this dead end town work up a decent enough fortune to steal!" she yelled.

"Maybe it's _because _we steal it…or should I say _I_ steel it." Fleck said. "Lazy old hag…" He muttered, only to get socked on the head.

"I can hear you…" Gwen stood up and stretched. "Whatever, I'm gonna take a nap, you can take this…" Gwen tossed Fleck the pouch. "Don't wake me." She walked upstairs and shut the door.

"She's gone…" Fleck said. Immediately Vic threw off the white sheet and took a deep breath. "I can't believe you were willing to be her table…" Fleck chuckled.

"Anything to get paid, Dood. If I save up enough, I'll be able to get reincarnated back to my old self, dood! Then I'll get back at that witch, Dood." Vic said, pumped up.

"Well, thanks to my sister's good graces, we now have some spending money. Any suggestions?" Fleck dangled the pouch in the air. "Besides putting it into your savings account!" Fleck followed up quickly.

"SCREW GWEN!! She can take her fat ass all the way back to hell!" Fleck cried in a drunken frenzy.

"Yeah, screw the slave driving witch, dood!" Vic yelled. "If I were in my original form, she'd be begging for mercy, Dood!"

"Vic, old buddy, you and me are gonna drink like there's no tomorrow! Hey, old man, another dozen over here!" Fleck said, slamming more money down on the counter. "Tonight's The Fiesta!!!" Fleck yelled as everything blurred out.

Fleck woke up on the floor, staring at his ceiling. "ugh…what the hell?" He turned over on his stomach and scanned the area. He was in his kitchen. "How did…" His eyes rested on a small penguin covered in glass bottles. "Hey…Hey Vic, wake up you slacker!" Fleck grabbed Vic by the head and shook him awake. When the prinny finally woke up, Fleck dropped him on the pile of glass bottles. "What the hell happened?"

"You drank six dozen bottles of vodka in under 2 minutes, ran amok through town, imagined you were Lupin the 3rd and tried to break into your own house, dood. Once inside, you proceeded to raid every single cupboard and drawer and drank every single bottle of liquid you could find, all the while, singing random beetles songs in Cantonese, dood. I think you swallowed a few gallons of bleach in the process, dood."

"Oh…man…I was wasted…" Fleck laughed but soon grew completely pale. He knocked Vic off the glass bottles and took a closer look at their labels. The word MILK was printed on in big black letters. "Oh…shit…" Fleck dropped the bottle. "Vic, do you realize what I've done… I just went through Gwen's _entire_ stash. Booze is one thing, but do you know what will happen once she finds out that I drank _all_ her milk.!?" Fleck said, shaking Vic violently. "What do we do!?" Fleck yelled.

"_We?_ _You_ drank the milk so _I_ don't have to do anything, dood." Vic said.

"Think for a minute Vic. When my sister kills me, do you honestly think you can handle her all by yourself?" Fleck said. Vic turned as pale as he did."

"What do we do, dood!?"

"Eyahhh, shut up, let me think!" Fleck suddenly had an idea and rushed to his room. Rustling was heard, and a loud bam as he descended downstairs. He had two suitcases and a sword strapped to his belt. "We make a break for it!"

"Are you sure we can survive out there, dood?" Vic asked.

"Do you want to take your chances here?" Fleck asked.

Gwen's yawning was heard from the second story. "Let's go, dood!" Fleck and Vic were out the door, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

"Fleck, Vic, where are you guys!?" Gwen stepped down and looked into the kitchen, eyeing the pile of empty milk bottles in the middle of the floor.

"Where to?" The bus driver asked Fleck as he and Vic boarded the bus.

"Wherever, man, just not here." A large explosion was heard in the distance and Gwen came charging into view, eyes glowing red, a dust storm trailing behind her.

"FLECK! I'll Kill you!!" She growled.

Fleck grabbed the driver by the collar and yelled. "Drive, man Drive! If you want to live to see the next sunrise, then DRIVE!" he yelled.

Panicked, the driver rammed his foot down on the pedal and drove into the distance, even Gwen couldn't keep up. As the bus reached the city limits, Junk Town grew smaller and smaller.

"We did it…We did it, dood!" Vic jumped up and down with joy.

"You know, I didn't think it would be this simple." Fleck commented as he and Vic sat down.

"Shows what the power of intimidation has, dood. Are we gonna be gone forever?" Vic said, hope in his voice.

"Of course not, She'll probably calm down in a week or 3 and, if she hasn't completely destroyed the town and all its inhabitants, this will all blow over like a bad headache." Fleck said, destroying Vic's dream of being free of Gwen's unreasonable orders. Vic would've quit by now had it not been so difficult for a prinny to find a job that paid more than 5HL a week.

The day went on as the bus kept driving, stopping periodically to let on and off passengers. Vic and Fleck soon fell asleep.

"Hey…Hey, you!" the bus driver poked Fleck in the nose until he woke up. "Last stop buddy, you have to get off here."

"Huh?...yeah…" Waking Vic up, Fleck and his companion stepped off the bus and into the outside. "Whoa…" Fleck said as he eyed the structure in front of him and Vic. It was a large castle resting on a stone column in the middle of a lake of lava, a narrow bridged connecting it to the mainland. The Castle itself looked like a mixed up pile of houses, the only parts that looked like a castle were three towers in the center of the complex.

"Maybe we should turn back, dood.." Vic said, meekly.

"Let's go inside!" Fleck said, walking across the bridge.

"Why, dood!?" Vic yelled.

Fleck pointed to a flyer on one of the trees near the bridge.

HELP WANTED, BIG $$$

Vic followed with renewed vigor.

"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this…dood." Vic said, uneasily.

"Hey, why do prinnies always say 'dood' after every sentence?" Fleck asked.

"Does that really matter, dood? We could get killed in this job, dood!" Vic said in a strained voice.

"how do you know?" Fleck asked.

"All I can say is that when there's a HELP WANTED sign in front of a huge castle, it usually involves dangerous and/or humiliating work, dood." Vic explained.

"Geez, we haven't even crossed the bridge yet and you're already getting cold feet…or peg legs…?" Fleck sighed. "Look, if it's that bad, we'll bale out. For now, just stay quiet." Fleck reassured his friend. Soon, the duo approached the large double doors that lead into the castle, two guards stood in front, sleeping. "uh…" Fleck looked around, making sure this wasn't some kind of weird trap. He pulled out his short sword and lightly poked one of the guards with it.

"mgh…uh.. Huh? What the hell do you want?" He said in a sleepy tone. Fleck held up the Help Wanted sign. "Oh… another lamb up for the slaughter, huh? Head on in…zzzzz." The guard soon fell back asleep.

"I don't like the 'lamb for the slaughter' thing he said, dood." Vic said.

Fleck ignored him and opened the doors, stepping into an extremely large lobby. Several demons of all different shapes and sizes walked around and conversed with one another. Fleck could see a small reception desk in the very back, a portrait of a well dressed man with a weird antennae hair style hung on the wall behind it. Fleck and Vic slowly made their way up to it. When he got there, a young girl in a white dress, red eyes, blue hair with a red ribbon in it, and an oddly charming stoic expression on her face greeted him. A small plaque on the desk read "Pleinair".

"Uh… We're here to apply for a job…" Fleck said, blushing slightly. Pleinair reached into a drawer and pulled out what looked like two application sheets and handed it to Fleck. "Do we fill this out?" He asked, awkwardly. Pleinair nodded and pointed to a large set of double doors at the end of a long hallway. "I uh…I see…" Fleck and Vic bowed and made their way to the doors, filling out the paper along the way, trying to avoid bumping into people as they went.

"It felt like she was staring into my soul…" Fleck said slightly trembling. Fleck bumped against someone's shoulder. "Hey, watch it!" he said.

"Sorry, my bad…" a smooth, calm voice responded. He had short, almost buzz cut brown hair and a green gown. A staff was slung across his back. "But to be fair, you shouldn't be writing stuff down while walking."

"You're…a healer, right?" Fleck asked.

"You got it! My name is Mill, I'm here to apply as a healer in Prince Laharl's army." Mill said with a smile. His smooth skin and young physique was one you'd find in a stereotypical high school pretty boy.

"A…Army?" Fleck and Vic repeated with a gulp.

"What did you think this place was? Summer Camp?" another, rather loud voice said from behind Mill. Two Figures approached. One was a woman with black hair tied into a rather wide ponytail and wore red and white oriental style clothing and a Katana strapped to her side. The other was a male, the one who spoke up. He had annoyingly luminescent green hair and had a tight black shirt on. He had padded gloves and boots and had a belt with numerous pouches strapped around his black pants, an axe clung to his back, securely.

"Yes." Fleck replied quickly, as though nothing was wrong with him thinking a foreboding dark castle in the middle of a lava lake was a summer camp (can you really blame him? It's the netherworld for Pete's sake).

"Silo, Misha! Good timing! I can introduce you to my new friend. This is…uh…" Mill hesitated, realizing he didn't get Fleck or Vic's names.

"I-I'm Fleck and this is Vic." Fleck said.

Silo took one look at Fleck and then turned to face Mill. "With all do respect Mill, the last "friend" you made tried to tear open my rib cage. Besides, I'd rather not split up the pay check four ways." Silo said.

"What do you mean?" Fleck asked.

"They pay according to groups." Misha said.

"Let's just go!" Silo ordered.

"C'mon, Silo! Lighten up!" Mill said, lightheartedly.

"Tch! Fine, He can tag along, but I'm not signing him up with us!" Silo said. He turned and walked towards the double doors. Misha followed suit, not so much as glancing at Fleck.

"Don't mind Silo, He's just a little tense." Mill said, placing his hand on Fleck's shoulder.

"Why? Isn't this just a job offer?" Fleck asked.

"You see… You know about how King Krichevskoy recently died, right?" Mill asked. Fleck and Vic nodded. "Silo really respected him and trained all his life to one day serve under him. However, when news of his death spread, it naturally hit him pretty hard. Seriously, he ate nothing but ice cream for 3 months straight like a depressed, middle aged, single, social worker unable to find the right guy.

"_That's a lot of Ice Cream._" Fleck thought.

"But, when news of the King's Son reached his ears, he quickly started re-honing his skills just to join up." Mill finished.

"If that's all, why is he so nervous, dood?" Vic asked. "I'm sure he'll get in, dood."

"It's not his ability that's the problem. Its…" As the six of five of them approached the door, loud murmuring could be heard beyond, Silo had a sick look on his face. Misha pushed open the door, revealing a room crammed to the brim with potential employees. Those that could fly hovered above the crowd, a large stage with 3 figures stood in the back ground.

"It's the fact that _everyone_ within a 50 mile radius is applying for one reason or another, that's the problem." Mill stated.

"Crap… There's more people here than we thought!" Silo yelled. "Wh-what do we do!? Ngh! Mm! Ah!" Silo panicked. Misha walked up to him and slapped him across the face. "…Thanks, Misha, I needed that." Silo said. Misha gave him a thumbs up.

"Sh!" a person in the crowd said. One of the figures on the stage held a microphone and stepped forward. He had short, bright red pants, a long red scarf, and no shirt. His Blue hair had a seemingly impossible antennae style to it. Two others were behind him. A flat chested red head wearing a skimpy black outfit. And then there was the receptionist girl from before, pleinair, who held a set of large cue cards.

"Testing! Testing! Hey! Attention, all of you!" He said, in a high pitched voice. The room fell silent. "Ahem…I am Prince Laharl! Son of King Krichevskoy! As you all know, I have been asleep for 2 years and now I am prepared to begin my ascent to the throne." Pleinair held up a picture of the overlord's throne as Laharl finished. "I would first like to thank you all for coming." Pleinair then held a card that said THANKS. "I'm sure all of you will serve, in one way or another, to help ME achieve ultimate power." Pleinair then held a card that said SCREW UP AND YOU DIE. "However, there seems to be a bit too many hopefuls here for us to cover, financially." a card with a question mark was now in Pleinair's hands. Laharl thought for a moment. "Aha! A battle royal! You will all fight to the death for the job!" the crowd began murmuring again. "The final 100 will receive the honor of being my personal army!" Laharl announced. Pleinair held a sign with a skull on top of it. "Now…BEGIN!!" Lahrl yelled. Silence.

"So that's his game…" Silo grinned, suddenly very confident. If it's about combat ability, then my place is certified." Silo said.

"I don't like the looks of this, dood." Vic said, tugging on Flecks shirt.

"I agree. I think It's about time we left." as Fleck and Vic turned to the door, two large demons slammed it shut.

"There is no escape so you're only hope is fight your way out!" Laharl yelled.

"Crap…." Fleck was sweating.

"Hey!.." a booming voice resounded, freezing Fleck and Vic in place. "You're the little rat that stole my wallet!" A large suit of armor with a flaming head shoved his way through the crowd and up to Fleck and Vic.

"F-fancy meeting you here…" Fleck stammered.

"Payback time!" He yelled.

"It's a _fight_ people, you have to hit someone!" Laharl yelled.

Just before the armor's sword ended Fleck's existence and Vic's only lifeline, it was stopped by a large axe. Silo grunted as he resisted the knight's strength. "Hey…are you gonna get up or just leave me hanging?" He grunted.

"What the-? You wanna die too!?" the knight roared.

"I don't know…do you!?" Silo shoves the sword aside and kicks the knight into the crowd, hitting several other demons. "Watch it!" one demon yelled. "Get off me!" another roared. The room soon erupted into a flurry of fireballs, gunshots, and sword strikes.

"How did this happen!?" Fleck yelled as he rolled out of the way of an incoming ice bolt.

"Less talking more slashing, dood!" Vic said, nervously drawing his daggers.

"bring it on!" Silo slammed his axe into the floor, the shockwave sending several demons into the air. Misha leaped up and sliced all of them in half with her sword.

"Awesome…" Fleck said in a daze.

"Giga star!" Fleck felt a flash of heat wash over him as a demon was incinerated right behind him.

"watch out!" Mill said, flashing another pretty boy smile.

As the battle raged, Laharl sighed as he sat down on one of the chairs in the back ground. "I have a feeling this could take a while…" a demon was flung on stage but was promptly kicked back down into the fray.

"Do you have anything better to do, prince?" The red head said.

"I don't need any help taking the throne, Etna! I can destroy anyone who opposes me by myself!" Laharl declared.

"True…but do you really want to wade through the small fry just to get to one real threat?" Etna said.

"True…These dolts better be worth it."

"You're mine!" a demon brought down his axe down towards Misha, leaving no time to dodge. A flash of green appeared in front of her and the axe was gone. "Huh?"

"Looking for this?" Fleck said, leaning on the demon's axe. "I've been doing this for a long time, man. Vic!"

"You got it, dood!" Vic leaped into the air and began to rapidly throw his daggers at his target, they flew back like boomerangs only to be thrown again in rapid succession. "Prinny Barage, Dood!" Soon, the demon was reduced to nothing. Fleck and Vic high fived. "Still got it, dood!"

"Not bad…" Silo said as he took out another foe. "I just might consider letting you into our group after all." Silo grinned.

Mill slammed his staff into the ground, sending a flash of light that incinerated several demons around him. "did you actually give a compliment?" Mill said.

"Lay off!"

"Pleinair! How many are left?" Etna asked. Pleinair held a small sketch pad. She constantly flipped the pages back, each one had a number one less than the previous page. "223? Already? This might not last as long as I thought." Pleinair's eyes darted across the room, flipping the countdown sketch pad as each person fell, as well as the green flash darting from demon to demon.

"You!" the dark knight yelled. Fleck froze in his place.

"Wha?" Fleck bent backwards to dodge a crushing blow. "Are you still mad about the money!? Get over it already!" Fleck said as he dodged each blow. Fleck attempted to retaliate but couldn't pierce the armor. "Damn it!"

"Time to die!!" Just as the Dark knight was about to crush Fleck, a loud whistle rang through the room.

"That's enough! We've reached the 100 mark! This excludes prinnies by the way." Laharl said.

"What!? But I was just getting star-" Before the dark knight was able to finish, he was obliterated in a blinding light. The armor fell to the ground, the flame died out.

"Shoot…" Fleck said.

"If the first words out of your mouth aren't "yes Sir" after I give an order, then your no good to me!" Laharl said.

"Y-yes sir!" the remaining combatants said.

"Uh, prince?" Etna said. "Now we have an uneven 99" Etna said.

"That's kind of annoying…It'll have to d-"

"Wait!" a female voice echoed into the room. A young woman in a long flowing gown with silky blue hair passed through the doors, a crumpled application sheet in her hand. "Is it too late to apply? I just got here so…Oh? Did I miss something?" She said as she scanned the room filled with dead bodies.

"Perfect, now we're up to 100" Laharl said. "You're all hired, congratulations!" he said. As everyone cheered, Laharl spoke again. "You'll be assigned into separate squads tomorrow. That's also the day we head out, so don't slack off!" Laharl, Etna, and Pleinair got up and exited the room.

"Um.. My name is Celeste! It's nice to meet you all!" Celeste bowed.

Fleck gulped, blushed and stepped forward. "Um, Hi…I'm-" Before Fleck could finish, he was shoved into the wall by Mill.

"Well hello there my young maiden! What a surprise to see another healer here! All the people I've been meeting today were thieves and cutthroats…" Mill began to flirt with the newcomer.

"I hope he isn't referring to me…" Silo said.

"my pride as a man was just taken…" Fleck muttered as he sat up, depressed. Vic patted his back comfortably.

**Later that night, Fleck and Vic's room**

Fleck was sitting on his bed, Vic unrolled a sleeping bag next to the wall. "Today was an interesting day eh vic?" Fleck said.

"I guess…Are you still planning on going home?" Vic asked.

"Maybe, maybe not…I'll decide that on my own." Fleck said, staring at the large white moon.

And that's the first chapter. I don't know when I'll be able to work on part two as I have other pressing concerns. You'll have to forgive me it this isn't exactly funny, I'm not that good at comedies. But hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained. See you all next time!

But now, Some Profiles.

**Fleck:** a young thief who lived in junk town for most of his life. Although he isn't the strongest, he was the fastest in his village which made him perfect for pursuing a career as a thief. He tries to keep a very mellow attitude, even if he's panicking on the inside. Despite not having much skill, he prefers to use a sword considering his line of work requires he get up close and personal. He also considers himself a realist, despite his bouts of irrationality from time to time.

**Vic:** Flecks long time friend and Prinny side kick. He lived under the thumb of Fleck's sister, Gwen for most of his life. The only reason he puts up with it is because Gwen pays better than most official jobs in junk town. He constantly rants about how if he were in his original form, things would be so much better. He does this so many times that no one even listens (if they ever did) anymore. The only person who ever cared about his existence to any degree was Fleck which is why they get along so well.

**Gwen: **A Nekomata who lived in junk town. Surprisingly, she is Flecks Biological sister. She came from a long line of nekomatas but, by some cosmic twist of fate, her mother also gave birth to Fleck. The two of them soon found themselves in Junktown, getting by only through Flecks skill at thievery. Despite her attitude, she really does care about Fleck and Vic (as far as furniture goes). She usually spends most of her day drinking or torturing Vic to amuse herself, but her most valued possession is her stash of pure, untainted milk. She once reduced a thief to mere shreds of clothing after he so much as looked at her stash. Considering the events of today's chapter, current maps won't have junk town listed.

**Silo:** A warrior who practically worshipped King Krichevskoy before his death. He respected him above everyone else and trained rigorously for years in the hopes of serving him one day. He gathered a small trio of comrades to help on his journey to prove himself but, upon hearing the news of the King's death, fell into a steep depression. He found renewed hope in Laharl in that by serving him, he is serving the late King. He was supposed to be the original main character but his story was to stereotypical and thus Fleck was selected instead. He is shown to have problems dealing with stress or un forseen complications that impede him from proving his worth. Misha is usually the one who snaps him out of it.

**Misha:** the first person to join Silo's group. They met after they teamed up to save a village from an evil magistrate. She speaks very little and lets her actions define her. Growing up in a long line of samurais, Misha embodies the very essence of her class. Her first loyalty is to Silo and vice versa. She has a slight hatred for ninjas, calling them cowards.

**Mill:** The third person of Silo's group and the most social. He was the most popular guy in the village he lived in, however he failed to notice this. When he left his hometown to find more exitement, he soon attempted to befriend a large gang of zombies near the Frozen River which prompted rescue by Silo and Misha who were conveniently setting up camp near by. The group has been together ever since. He is a master of Healing and star magic, but never drops his "airhead" disposition. He has a tendency to make friends with dangerous people or things, one incident resulting in Silo almost being ripped apart. Although he is generally polite, if he see's something he wants, he'll go after it relentlessly. He developes an immediate crush on Celeste when she enters the room.

**Celeste:** The last topic of today. Celeste is a healer who enters the job at the last minute. She is the daughter of a recently fallen angel and thus has a much better understanding of Celestial ways than most others. She seems clueless at first but knows when to get serious. Fleck and Mill both develop slight feelings for her at first sight. Although it's more prominent in Mill.


	2. Chapter 2

And now we arrive at chapter two, or episode one in the game. It has also come to my attention that I never gave a name for the first chapter…That is probably the most embarrassing thing an author could do…I'll change it as soon as I can.

**Ch 2: Thief of the Netherworld**

**Place Courtyard**

The sun shined brightly in the sky, several of the newly hired soldiers in Laharls army were practicing for the upcoming mission. All except 5...

3 arrows whizzed through the air and hit three corresponding targets in rapid succession. "Good work, Celeste. We'll move on to moving targets next." Said Neige. She was an Archer and had long golden blonde hair tied into long flowing curls. She wore a dress with several shades of blue. "I'll admit, it's surprising. I'd thought for sure you'd pick a staff as a weapon of choice."

"Thank you…" Celeste said bowing. She heard clapping off in the distance. She turned and saw Fleck waving from a small table next to the wall. She smiled kindly and waved back. _"It's a shame we're not in the same squad…"_ She thought to herself. She heard Neige calling and she rushed over.

"Hey! Hey!" Silo said, snapping his fingers. "Eyes back on the game, lover boy! It's your turn."

"Huh? Oh, right…" Fleck and Silo were playing a game of chess. Mill and Misha were watching on the side. Vic was…the table… _"Why couldn't I be assigned to Celeste's squad…?"_ He thought as he moved his pawn forward. Fleck looked around the training ground. All the other squads were getting to know each other. All had a different composition of specialists and warriors but there were 3 similarities. Each one was no larger than 5, had 1 healer, and 1 prinny (likely for luggage). Fleck then looked at the people around him. "I guess it's only natural… we did come in all at once…" Fleck muttered.

"You say something?" Silo asked. Fleck shook his head. "Okay then…" Silo moved his bishop into place and smiled. "Check." Fleck looked at his board with apathy. "You know the deal, pay up." Silo extended his palm. Fleck just pulled out a wallet and handed him a handful of dollar bills (I don't know what HL looks like so I'll just go with that). "Dude, what's the matter with you? You'd been like this all day and it's bumming me out." Silo complained.

"Sorry…Just a little distracted…" Fleck said as he watched Celeste and Neige leaving the courtyard.

"Whatever, I'm going to see what they have in the shops. Come get me when lover boy snaps back to reality." Silo gathered the chess pieces into a bag and folded up the board and set it on a bench. "Thanks for being the table Vic."

"Uh…I'm used to it, dood." Vic said, cracking his stiff wings.

"I heard that woman, Celeste, was it? Anyway, I heard she was the daughter of a recently fallen angel." Misha said.

"How'd you figure that out?" Mill asked.

"I asked her yesterday before everyone went to bed." Misha replied.

"Very interesting…" a sly grin crept across Mill's face.

"Don't get any funny Ideas." Fleck said. As soon as he finished, an alarm sounded across the courtyard. "Sound's like that mission the boss mentioned is about to begin."

"Well, let's go." Misha said, standing up.

"What about Kain?" Mill asked.

"We can find him on the way, dood. Besides, he'll probably find his way there anyway, dood." Vic replied as the four of them headed to the dimensional gate.

"Silo! Overhere!" Fleck yelled as they entered into the area in front of the gate. The infirmary, and the portal to the item world were off to the left while the shops were off to the right.

Silo rushed over to join his friends. "About time!"

"What's the mission, I cant tell the prince is yelling something, but I can't hear." Fleck asked.

"Apparently we're going to take out some new guy who thinks he's Overlord material. His name's supposed to be Vyers or something." Silo said.

"That's a dumb name…" Mill commented.

"MOVE OUT!" Laharl yelled. The gatekeeper chanted something and the gate began to open, a large castle could be seen within. The large mass of newly highbred soldiers moved through the portal, Laharl and Etna in the lead. Fleck and the others got shoved along into the crowd. He saw Celeste out of the corner of his eye and tried to call out to her. His voice was drowned out by the voices of those around him.

"It seems we have some guests…" a very, unusually handsome demon with purple hair said as he looked down from the window of his room. "You can take care of it can't you?" he asked.

"No problem sir. No need to pay either, this fight's personal…" the man in the shadows said. He looked down, furiously at Fleck as he stumbled out of the gate, his friends helping him up.

"So that's what going through the gate feels like, dood." Vic said. Vic turned and looked around. They were in a field, high walls stood high above them only a few feet away. "dude, dood." (we all saw that joke coming right?). Everyone looked at him. "What, dood?"

"Cool it with the 'dood' thing all right? You're going to overkill that line at this rate." Silo said. A glint caught his eye and Silo sidestepped an arrow. "Finally." he said as he looked up to see several archers aiming down at them. "Charge!" he yelled, drawing his axe.

"Giga St-" before Mill could finish, an arrow shot down and knocked his staff out of his hands. "Oh…" without his staff to focus the energy, his spell exploded in his face, sending him flying into a nearby rock. "Ohoho….."

"Damn…" Fleck said. "Hyaha!" Fleck jumped back to avoid three arrows. "Why me! There are plenty of oth…er…" Fleck looked behind and saw that most of them had already smashed their way through the gate. "Oh…Gyahh!" a fire ball singed the spot he was standing on. "Cut it out dammit!" as fleck danced to dodge arrows, he noticed vic hiding under a rock. "Aha!" Fleck rolled underneath and sat up next to Vic.

"What are we gonna do, dood!" He asked. Fleck simply looked at him. "Gyaahhhhhh!" Vic soared through the air and towards the archers. "F- you, dooooood!" Vic disappeared in a fiery explosion.

"Your sacrifice will not be forgotten my friend!" Fleck yelled back as he ran in after the others, Mill slung across his back.

"He even sacrificed his own sidekick? The side kick is the one most responsible for raking in more fans. He doesn't deserve the title of 'Main side character." a deep male voice said as he observed Fleck from the shadows, clenching his fists.

Silo brought his axe down on a red skull who tried to channel another fireball, crushing him. Misha dashed through the battle field, slicing every enemy she came across. Celeste and Neige stayed back and provided long range support with their bows.

"Celeste!" Fleck ran over, tripping and dropping Mill on the stone floor beneath them. "I don't mean to be a bother but…" Fleck ducked to avoid another arrow. "could you heal my friend here?" Celeste nodded and began the healing spell. "So…uh…how did you find out about this place?" Fleck asked.

"Now doesn't seem to be the time for small talk…" Celeste said. A large explosion of light went off in the back ground, agonized screams following soon after. "and…Done." Celeste stood up and allowed Mill some room to breath. After coughing a bit, Mill finally opened his eyes and looked around.

"Wha…what's going on?" He slurred.

"There's not a lot of time so I'll just give you the quick rundown." Fleck said. "Basically, your staff's gone, Vic's been blown up, we're about to storm the inside of the enemy's castle and for some reason, I have a feeling that some guy who will be very influential to my life in the near future is watching me from afar." Fleck said.

"Oh…M'kay…" Mill stood up and grunted. "Well what are we waiting for!"

"Yeah!" Fleck said, full of energy.

"Shall we go, my dear?" Mill said, kissing Celeste's hand.

"Watch it…." Fleck said, grasping his sword. A shadow caught the corner of his eye and he looked up. Whatever was there, wasn't anymore. "Hm…I could've sworn I…" Fleck heard the others calling him and he rushed off.

"Wow…This is a pretty nice place!" Etna said as they entered the main hall. "I'll bet that vase would sell for a lot!"

"This painting doesn't look to bad either!" Fleck yelled back.

"Fools! That makes us no better than common thieves." Laharl scolded.

"But…I _am_ a thief…" Fleck said.

"Well quit then! As an overlord I have to be impartial and…."

"And what sir?" Etna asked.

"Plunder everything! Don't leave a single scrap left for these guys!" Laharl ordered.

"Yes sir!" Fleck said with enthusiasm. The prinnies showered Laharl with praise.

"Something wrong, Silo?" Misha asked her comrade.

"Hm? Not really…The way this room was decorated just seems…familiar." Silo replied, scratching his head. He looked over at Fleck who had already stepped into the other room. "Hey! We have to stay together!" Silo, Mill, Misha, and Celeste rushed over. "Why are you coming with us? Isn't your squad back there?" Silo asked.

"They said for me to accompany you guys since you're down one member. They have the prince with them so they should be fine." Celeste said cheerfully.

"Whatever…" Silo said.

"I see him!" Mill pointed to Fleck who was grabbing every thing he saw that was either hanging on a wall or placed on a pedestal.

"Vase, Vase, Vase, Painting, Vase, Bowl, Don't know what this thing is but I'll take it." Fleck listed off the things he took as he went.

"A-at least he has the right mind set…" Silo commented. He then saw someone hiding behind one of the pedestals. As Fleck passed it, he pulled a knife and darted forward. "Fleck!" as Silo yelled, anther knife flew past his head and pierced Fleck's assailant's spine, killing him. "What the hell?" Silo and the others turned around to see Vic stagger in through the doorway.

"Vic! You're not smithereens after all!" Fleck yelled, arms spread for a hug. Vic leaped forward and latched on to Flecks face, squeezing tightly. "I missed you too buddy, even if it was for less than a page…" Vic squeezed tighter. "getting a little tight there…I won't be able to breathe at this rate…" Fleck said, cheerfully. "Vic?" Vic opened his beak and bit down, HARD, on Flecks ear. "Gyaaaaahhhh!" Fleck began running around in circles. "Get him off me! Get him of Me!"

"How dare you leave me for dead, dood! After all the shit I had to put up with, dood!" Vic started yanking on Fleck's hair.

"C'mon, what was I supposed to do!" Fleck started bashing his face, and by extension, Vic against the wall repeatedly, cracking the surface.

"Should we stop them?" Misha stepped forward only to be blocked by Mill.

"Be quiet, I wanna see how long this lasts." Mill said, taking out a camera. Before he could get one shot off, a booming voice echoed through the room.

"ENOUGH!"

Fleck and Vic stopped fighting and looked up. Several figures dropped down from the ceiling.

"Aw man…something always happens just when things start getting good!" Mill complained, stuffing his camera in his cloak.

"Who are you!" Misha asked, drawing her blade.

"Yeah!" Fleck followed up, Vic still chewing on his head.

There were several brawlers that landed in a circle and one figure in the middle. A ninja. "I am **[Insert Protagonist name here]**. And I am here to crush you." the ninja said.

Silo cupped a hand around his ear and spoke. "Huh?"

"I said my name is **[insert Protagonist name here].**" the ninja said again.

"You have to speak up! It's like some snobby, British voice keeps popping in every time you try to say your name." Silo said.

"It should work both ways. You try saying it." the Ninja suggested.

Silo shrugged and tried to say his name. "**[instert Protagonist name he-**" Silo put his hand over his mouth. "what the hell?" Silo tried again, getting the same result. "What's going on."

"I am but one of many different character ideas that were considered for main character roles. However, I was scrapped before a name could be given to me by the creator. All because of that bumbling idiot!" the Ninja pointed to Fleck who had just managed to pull Vic off his face.

"What did I do!" Fleck asked.

"grrrrr. Everything! If it wasn't for you, _I_ would've been chosen as the main character of this story and _I _would be the one with a name and a charismatic sidekick!" the Ninja said with rage in his voice. "_I_ shouldn't have to be trying to steal this title from _you_." he pointed at Fleck.

"Well excuse me for existing!" Fleck yelled.

"No…no more excuses. Today, I take my rightful place in the spotlight!" The Ninja and the fighters around him readied their fists. "Attack!"

"This doesn't look to good…" Celestes said.

"Don't worry, fair maiden. I, Mill, shall protect-"

"Oh can it already!" Silo yelled. "Let's go!" Silo, Misha, Mill, and Celeste charged at the enemy. The Ninja leaped over all of them and charged straight towards Fleck and Vic.

"Aw crap!" Fleck raised Vic up like a shield as the Ninja threw his punch. The impact sent both of them colliding into the wall. "Rgh…Vic, listen to me. I know I screwed up, alright. I'll buy you dinner tonight, how does that sound?"

"Hmmm. It better be fancy, dood." Vic said, drawing his blades and facing their enemy.

"You got it…" Fleck grinned as he readied his sword. "This shouldn't be too hard. He doesn't even have a weapon." Fleck gloated.

The Ninja raised his arm, which had steel gauntlets strapped to it. He clenched one hand into a fist and several claws extended out of the gauntlets.

"You just had to jinx us didn't you, dood?" Vic said.

"here I come!" The Ninja dashed towards Fleck, punching his clawed arm forward. Fleck dodged and deflected each one of the Ninjas attacks, but couldn't find an opening to counter. The ninja punched forward with his left hand but pulled back at the last second and kicked Fleck in the ribs, sending the thief flying across the room. "How did you get picked above me for main character? I'm stronger than you, faster than you, smarter than you, and probably better looking."

"Eat this, dood! Prinny Barrage!" Vic threw his blades at maximum speed, a cloud of smoke forming around the impact zone. Vic landed and caught his blades, grinning. "got you, dood." As the cloud of smoke cleared, the Ninja stepped out, not a single scratch on him.

"Impressive. I actually broke a sweat." Before he could wipe his forehead, Fleck leaped up and attempted to stab him from behind. The Ninja grabbed him and slammed him into the ground. He picked Fleck up again and threw him at Vic, they both skidded across the floor. "You don't deserve the title you've been given."

"You aren't the hero type yourself!" Celeste yelled as she fired an arrow. The ninja caught it and snapped it in half. Celeste readied three more arrows and shot them at the same time.

"I'd rather avoid fighting a lady if possible." The ninja said.

"Celeste! Fleck! We're coming!" Silo yelled as he slammed the butt of his axe against one of the Ninja's cronies. Silo, Misha, and Mill forced their way through their enemies to lend support to their friends. All six of them surrounded the Ninja, weapons ready.

"Interesting…" The Ninja said.

"Give up! There's no way you can beat us all." mill said, channeling a star spell in his hand.

"Try me!" The Nin- You know what? It's getting really awkward just calling this guy ninja so instead I'll think up a different name to call him… Hmm…All right, lets call him (and I know this is cliché) No name.

"Try me!" No name yelled.

"You asked for it!" Mill fared his spell only to have it be effortlessly deflected by No name. mill stared, mouth agape. "Nghh! Damn it!" He yelled in frustration. Mill looked up to see No name only inches away from him and felt a surge of pain shoot through him as he punched him in the gut.

"Mill!" Silo and Misha darted forward and swung their weapons. No name grabbed Silo's axe, yanked it out of his hands, and kicked him away, sending him crashing into Mill. No name sidestepped as Misha attacked and grabbed her by the neck.

"Eat this!" Fleck attacked from behind only to get Misha slammed into him. They both crashed into Silo and Fleck as they tried to get up. No name then pointed his claws at Celeste and one of them shot out, a chain connecting it to the gauntlet. It wrapped itself around Celeste's neck, allowing No name to swing her through the air and slam her into her friends.

"Uh…Uh…" Vic stared at the scene before him, his beak hanging open. Before he could mace a move, No name grabbed vic by the head and threw him at his comrades. "Not again, dood!"

"Oh my GoooooD!" Fleck yelled as the whole room was engulfed in a massive explosion, the floor collapsing beneath them.

**Elswhere**

"Hey…" Laharl muttered as he looked around. His army had just cleared an entire hallway full of enemies. Assailants were slumped against the wall or hanging out a window. Several prinnies were looting the bodies. "Are we missing a few people?" Laharl asked.

"How would you tell in a group as large as this?" Etna asked.

"Just a feeling. I feel like something important is happening right under our noses. Laharl's thoughts were interrupted as the small army pushed open a large pair of double doors.

"HA hahahahahahahahaha!"

"Who's there!"

"How rude, invading a man's home and then asking 'Who's there?'" The voice emanating from nowhere began to grow louder. "However, I must give you credit for your bravery! Hah!" a very elegantly dressed demon with long, gray-purple hair jumped down from the ceiling. "_I_ am Vyers, the Dark Adonis."

"aren't you the one who's been knocking off competition fro the throne?" Etna asked.

"Correct! And I assume that you, my boy, are the son of King Krichevskoy, are you not?" Vyers asked.

"Yes, I am Laharl, the rightful heir to the throne!" Laharl yelled.

"Ancient history my boy. But, I do applaud your strategic brilliance. You saw the threat posed in moi and decided to take me out first. I commme-"

"Who gives a damn about you? You're just one stepping stone on my way to the throne." Laharl stated, bluntly.

"How dare You! I'm the Dark Ad-"

"No! Mid-Boss is a more fitting name for you!"

"M-Mid-Boss!"

"Looks like you hurt his pride, prince." Etna chimed in.

"If that's the way you want it…Fine then. I shall take you on!" Mid-boss yelled. As if on cue, several armed soldiers entered the room. "This should be adequate to keep your minions occupied. Now di-" before Mid-boss could finish, a large rumble echoed through the room.

"What was that?" Laharl asked.

"I'm guessing it's our missing employees." Etna grinned.

**Meanwhile…**

"_Why?"_ _Celeste cried. "Why do you have to…"_

"_It is the duty of the angels." the man said._

_Celeste looked up. He had an emotionless, calm look on his face. His black hair was tied into a long braided ponytail. If you didn't know better, you might've thought he was a girl at first glance. His voice was strong, and commanding. He also wore the traditional garb of the Celestial Hosts. "Big brother…" she muttered._

"_mother made her decision and you are the result of that." He said the word mother with disgust in his voice. "Don't let me catch you this close to the borderline again. You know what will happen if you do." The man turned and left._

_Celeste looked down, a helpless look on her face. "Krugis…" (Note: Pronounced Crew-jis)_

"Celeste! Celeste!" Fleck called. "C'mon, wake up!" Fleck called again.

"I…I think you may have to try something else, dood." Vic said. Fleck pulled out a hammer and he began to panic. "No! Not that kind of different, dood!" Vic yelled "I think…I think you should give her mouth to mouth, dood."

Fleck simply gave Vic a horrified look. He stared at Celeste's unconscious face and turned a shade of red unseen by any living organism. "uh…I can't…"

"Oh come on! We're all adults here right, dood?" Vic said. Fleck still didn't move. "We'll laugh about it later, dood. So grow some backbone and give her some air, dood." Vic yelled.

Fleck gulped and started to lean closer. As he moved in, he began to sweat profusely.

"Think about it this way, dood. What if Mill was here?" Vic said.

Fleck's nervous face became one of intolerable rage, right as he got 3 inches away from Celeste's lips. Unfortunately, this is also when she woke up. She took one look at Flecks face and screamed. She sent a kick right into the nads.

"Gyaaah!" Fleck grabbed his damaged goods and rolled around on the floor. "Can't…even breathe…guh…"

"Oh! Fleck, that was you? I'm so sorry! Here, let me get that." Celeste stood up held her arms out. "Heal!" a green light surrounded fleck, and the pain he felt was gone.

"Thanks…" He said.

"Where are we?" Celeste asked.

"I think we're on a lower floor, dood." Vic answered.

"After Vic got tossed, the whole room we were in collapsed right under us." Fleck said. "I don't know what happened to Silo and the others." Fleck sat down. "And what was up with that crazy ninja?"

"He said something about stealing your spot as the main character…I wonder what he means by that." Celeste Wondered.

"I think that's his way of saying 'I'm a Lunatic! Please put me out my misery!'" Fleck said in a mocking tone.

"That wasn't very nice, Fleck." Celeste said.

"The guy blasted us down 2 stories, I'll say whatever I damn well please about him!" Fleck yelled and then took a deep breath. "Anyway, let's just find a way to rejoin the others."

"Do you think they're all right, dood?" Vic asked.

"Do you mean the Prince or Silo? In either case, they should be fine." Fleck said.

"Gyah!" Silo fell to the ground, clutching his gut. "Of all…the places to…end up…" he muttered. No name stepped over him and approached Misha and mill.

"Not the outcome I intended but it will work just as well." No name clenched his fists and took a combat stance. "Let's begin."

"No wonder you were scrapped for main character status…Your personality is way off!" mill said.

This made No name flinch. "Wh…what are you talking about? I'm perfect for the job! I'm storng, smart, able to take several opponents in one go, and-"

"That's the problem! You're a Gary Stu! Nobody wants to see an ungodly, powerhouse winning every battle. The weaker the protagonist, the more challenge there is and the more interesting it gets! Unless, you know, the MC is just a giant pussy, in which case it just gets bloody annoying, but that's besides the point." mill yelled.

No name simply stared at him, wide eyed, and relaxed his stance. "Oh my…God…You're right…"

"So…Does this mean we don't have to fight?" Silo asked, still on the ground. His response was a swift and strong kick to the gut. "Gehof! What'd I say?" Silo groaned.

"Despite that…I still have a job to do…" No name readied himself again and charged forward.

"Hey, what were you muttering about before?" Fleck asked Celeste as they wandered through the castle halls. "You kept mumbling stuff about your brother in your sleep or something." Fleck said.

"I was…talking in my sleep?" Celeste asked, in a slightly embarrassed tone. "Well…if you must know…" Celeste's face turned sad for a moment before a high pitched scream echoed through the hall.

"That sounded like…" Fleck, Celeste, and Vic rushed down the hall into another large room. When the three of them arrived, Misha and Silo were unconscious and No name held Mill up by the neck.

"Mill's in danger, dood." Vic yelled. "Wait, if Silo and Misha were both unconscious…does that mean the scream was…" everyone looked at Mill.

"Wh-what? Get off my case!" he yelled defensively.

"Dude…" Fleck said.

No name shot out another claw but this time, Fleck and the others dodged. "Rush him, dood!" Vic yelled as all three charged forward. No name prepared to strike back but a searing pain suddenly racked his body. The back part of his shirt was singed by an attack from Mill. Seeing an opening Fleck dived forward and tackled No name down.

"Try to steal my title huh?" Fleck punched him across the jaw. "Screw. You. You. Giant. Asshole!" Fleck said, punching between words. As Fleck tried to punch again, No name grabbed his arm and threw him off. He rolled to his feet and fired two chain claws at fleck, snaring him. He swung him in wide arcs around himself, hitting Celeste and Vic in the process. No name sped up his pace and flung Fleck towards the ceiling.

**Elsewhere**

"Huff…Huff…" Mid-boss breathed heavily, Laharl and Etna stood in front of him, weapons ready. "You are stronger than I had anticipated…Perhaps I shouldn't have held back…" He said, trying to sound confident.

"Liar. You gave it your all just now." Laharl pointed out.

"Not true! Now, to show you the true power of Moi!" Vyers hand began to glow as he readied his next attack. Before he could use it however, Fleck burst from the floor and struck him smack dab in the ribs. "Gyaaahhh!" Fleck and Mid-boss collided and crashed into one of the pillars of the room.

"Ohhh." Fleck stood up, greatly disoriented. "Huh…who's the gay dude…" Fleck said. No Name leaped up from the hole he created and landed in front of fleck. "Oh, come on! Just leave me alone already!"

"**[Insert Protagonist Name here]**! How dare you destroy my beautiful castle!" Mid-boss yelled. "I specifically ordered you to leave the place intact! That explosion earlier was probably because of you also! Wasn't it?" as Mid-boss was about to go into a full rant, he was effortlessly smacked out of the way by No name.

"This matter does not concern you!" No name fired all six of his claws at Fleck. He managed to deflect one of them but was ensnared by the others. Before he could get flung around again, Laharl jumped in and cut the chains. "What!" Laharl kicked No name across the room, breaking a pillar in the process. "Damn you!"

Silo and the others all leaped out the hole, healed by Celeste. "We'll take it from her, sir!" Silo proclaimed.

Celeste was healing Fleck. "Are you alright?" She asked. Fleck blushed slightly and nodded.

He looked towards No name and walked forward. "Hey, -san." Fleck started.

"Hey…" Before Silo could stop him, Misha placed a hand on his shoulder, signaling for Silo to let Fleck continue.

"What…what are you gonna do? Spare me your pity! I'm trying to kill you don't you remem- wait." -san stopped. "What did you call me?"

"I called you -san. You know, that Japanese honorific use for-"

"I know what it is! But why?" -san asked.

"it's awkward calling you No name or **[Insert Protagonist Name Here]**" Fleck said. So I just decided to skip to just using the honorific." Fleck said, matter of factly.

"-San…" -San muttered. "-San…my new name…" he began to tremble.

"I've got a bad feeling about this, dood." Vic said.

A bright aura began to surround -San, his clothes and wounds were recovering. "I finally have a name… Is it really true!" he smiled.

"Yeah. Look, your name even changed in the text a few paragraphs ago." Fleck said.

"Great job Fleck! You just made the badass ninja even more badass!" Silo yelled.

-San dashed forward and bowed down before Fleck and the others. "Thank you!" he yelled.

"Huh?" -San embraced fleck, squeezing him tight.

"Thank you! Thanks to you I finally have name! And I'm now eligible to have a tangible role in this series!" he said, on the verge of sobbing.

"Th-that's great…man. Not to break the mood but uh…personal space." Fleck said.

-San immediately backed off. "oh! Sorry."

"So, what's the role you've chosen?" Silo said, kind of scared to ask.

"Your new comrade!" -San said, suddenly appearing behind Silo and Fleck, swinging both his arms around their shoulders. (you know, the manly way). They both tried to get out of his grip.

As the group began to bicker, Laharl and Etna had a side conversation. "Hey, Etna…"

"Hm? What's up, Prince?" Etna asked.

"I've got a feeling that we just missed something important." Laharl said.

"I guess it's just one of those things you miss when something fun is happening." Etna replied.

"I guess…"

**Celestia**

"You called, Seraph Lamington?" a young girl with bright blonde hair entered a large garden in Celestia, home of the Angels. "Seraph Lamington?"

"Over here, Flonne." The Seraph, a rather handsome young man with long gray hair and bright, large wings beckoned Flonne over to him. "Look, the flowers are just starting to bloom."

"Yes, They're beautiful." She said. "These flowers are simple and yet so lively. I want to be just like them someday…" Flonne said.

"Hm…Flonne, as seraph I have strict orders for you." Seraph Lamington said, his expression turning serious but then turning into another relaxed smile. "Go to the netherworld and assassinate the overlord, King Krichevskoy. I will send Krugis to assist you." he said, calmly.

It took a moment for the info to fully register in Flonne's mind. "Huh?"

**Next Chapter Preview**

FLECK: and now for the preview for the next chapter1

VIC:We didn't have one last time, dood. Or even a chapter name!

FLECK: Shut it! Now then…-ahem- With the vile ninja -san defeated, Fleck and his band of heroes stand triumphant! Fleck moves forward with his ultimate goal!

MISHA: Ultimate goal?

SILO: that's it, I'm outta here! Wake me up when the brain seminar is over!

FLECK: What is the ultimate goal, you ask? Well it's simple really, complete and utter co-

ETNA: HEY! WHAT'RE YOU DOING IN HERE?

FLECK: Ah crap! Run away!

ETNA: Prinny Barrage!

VIC: No! Brothers, why have you betrayed me!

**-San (aka: No name, [Insert Protagonist Name Here]):** One of several characters considered and ultimately scrapped in favor of fleck for position of main side character. He, like so many others, hold a grudge against Fleck for this and seeks to kill him to take his place. However, with his recent turnaround he now wishes to aid fleck in his quest to avoid his sister at all costs.

**Krugis:** Celeste's older half brother. Unlike Celeste who was born of the love between an angel and a Demon, Krugis was born between Celeste's mother and her original husband. He hates demons with a passion and is vavored by vulcanus in a similar way Flonne is by Seraph Lamington. He is the same rank as Flonne, and the two know each other well.


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome! One and all to chapter 3 of **Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

SILO: When we last left our heroes they… they…you know what? Just read the chapter yourself. There's only two of them and they aren't that long. In fact, why would you need a review anyway. If you're starting from the third chapter without reading the previous ones, you're an idiot. Who does that? I mean- (Static)-

WE'RE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, PLEASE CONTACT US AGAIN LATER.

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

Chapter 3: Enter Flonne (and Krugis too)

Krugis scanned the area around him through a pair of binoculars. The barren landscapes, fire spewing out of volcanoes in the distance, and the stench of death did little to raise his enthusiasm. _"I'm honored that the seraph entrusted this responsibility to me but…" _Off in the distance, Krugis spotted a group of warriors being incinerated by a large dragon. _"I'm still just a trainee, I can't take on an overlord! Especially with this crappy equipment."_ Krugis had a bow and arrow set strapped to his back, a short sword clasped to his belt, several metal armor pads under his clothes, and a large pack filled with survival gear (compasses, binoculars, etc). _"I don't think this even covers 1 percent of what it takes to fight an overlord. Plus there's her…"_ Krugis looked behind him and saw Flonne examining what appeared to be some kind of jack lantern. She poked it once and it tried to take a bite out of her. "Quit it, the last thing I need is to use our supplies to treat your injuries because you pissed off a pumpkin." Krugis said in a calm, yet strict tone. While he looked calm on the outside, he was panicking on the inside. _"I'm going to die here, arent I?"_

**Celestia**

Seraph Lamington sighed as he took in the sunlight in his garden, a large flock of white doves surrounded him. "It's so peaceful today…" he said to himself.

"Master Lamington!" a gruff, rough voice echoed from the distance, scaring the birds away. "Master Lamington!" a tall, very old looking man came up to lamington, seemingly out of breath.

"Archangel Vulcanus…What are you yelling about this time? You scared the birds away." Seraph Lamington said, a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"Forget about the birds! Is it true that you sent Flonne to assassinate Overlord Krichevskoy!" Vulcan us asked.

"Yes, and Krugis as well." Lamington replied as if it were nothing.

"H-how can you be so calm about this! I have no doubt about Krugis' abilities but their both still trainees! If you wanted someone to assassinate the Overlord, then you should have sent me instead." Vulcanus raged. "I am deeply aggravated by this…" Vulcanus turned and left the garden in a huff.

The Seraph watched him leave and, as soon he was out of earshot, began to speak. "That is exactly why you aren't suited for this job."

**Overlords Castle**

Fleck and the others were seated around a table in the practice fields playing go fish. Vic (as usual) was charged as being a bench for Fleck and -San while everyone else had to use regular chairs. Mill glared at him with jealousy. "Mill, do you have a…3?" Fleck asked.

Mill looked at his cards and replied: "N…No." Mill looked nervous.

"Did I ever tell you you're a terrible liar." Fleck said.

"I really don't have a 3!" Mill yelled overly defensively.

"-San!" Fleck snapped his fingers. San dashed over to Mill's side, took the three from his hand and handed it to fleck.

"Hey no fair, using a ninja to call my bluff!" Mill yelled. Fleck snapped his fingers again and -San punched mill in the face. "Ow! What the hell was that for!"

"Insolence!" Fleck yelled.

"Dude, I think this whole 'main character' thing is going to your head. You've been acting like a…how do I put this lightly…An annoying, pompous, arrogant, narcissistic, sociopath." Silo said.

"Hm…you may be right!" Fleck said, not even trying to deny it.

"Oh come on! I lie in go fish and you punch me in the face. He outright insults you and you just agree with him!" Mill complained. Fleck snapped his fingers again and Mill got punched again.

"And you." Silo pointed at -San. "Why are you so loyal to Fleck anyway. I mean, two days ago you were about ready to cut off his head and drink the blood that dripped out." Silo asked.

"He gave me a n-" -San began.

"And don't start with the name thing. I admit, not having a name sucks more than it may initially seem, but still." Silo stared at -San with narrow eyes.

"Why do you think I joined up with you?" -San said.

"I'm thinking…you knew that master Laharl could disintegrate you in a second if you tried to fight so you decided 'if you can't beat'em join'em." Silo said.

-San simply stared at him, an awkward silence hanging in the air. "That's not true." He said after a long pause. Everyone stared at him, unconvinced. -San's eyes darted around, nervously. "All right, so it was true at that very moment. I wanted to live more than I wanted to be the Main Character so I figured that was my safest bet." he yelled. "But…when I think about it now, I think I just wanted an actual name instead of being a real MC. It so awkward being called **[Insert Protagonist Name Here]**." -San said.

"And you aren't affected by any of this?" Silo asked.

"Dude, as long as he's not trying to rip my body apart, I'm fine with it." Fleck said a bored look on his face. "Hey, weren't you assigned to another squad when you joined up?" Fleck asked -San.

"I believe so. One of their members was killed during your attack on Mid-boss's castle so I'm his replacement." -San replied.

"Who's the squad leader?" Fleck asked.

"I think it was an archer named…Neige."

"Nei…That's Celeste's squad! This is awesome, now I can have a guy on the inside." Fleck yelled.

"You mean like a spy? What for? we're on the same side!" Misha chimed in, tired of just listening.

"Well…I was hoping to use his skill to…you know…find out what she likes and…." Fleck trailed off, his sentence turning into and incoherent mutter.

"I don't know if I should admire your dedication or be emotionally disturbed by it." Silo commented.

**Outside the Castle**

"Well, I'm here. The Overlords Castle." Flonne said, examining the castle from a nearby cliff.

"You mean _we're _here." Krugis said.

"Still, I wonder why the seraph chose _us_ though. Master Vulcanus would've been a much better choice…" Flonne said, thinking.

"At least we agree on something." Krugis muttered. _"Still, she brings up a good point. Why in the world would master Lamington send Trainees here? We need special amulets just to survive in this world. Something else is going on here."_ Krugis examined his amulet deep in thought. Deciding it was finally time to move out, he adjusted his back pack and turned to face Flonne. "Alright, let' g-!" Flonne was already halfway towards the bridge leading up to the front gates. "hey, not that way!" Krugis ran after her. Despite his best efforts he could keep up, she dashed past the unguarded front gates straight up to the unguarded front door.

"Huff…huff… where does she get all this energy?…and why are there no guards? I'd expect to encounter some kind of resistance…"

**With Fleck and the others**

"Shouldn't we be guarding the front gates, dood." Vic said, stretching.

"Nah, who'd be stupid enough to attack the Overlords castle." Fleck said, polishing his sword.

"Yeah, I guess your right, dood." Vic replied. "Anyone who tries to break _into_ the castle has to be a real idiot, dood." Vic said. Everyone laughed.

**Back with Krugis**

"There's only one possible explanation for this lack of security. They know we're coming! It's all a trap! We have to get out of here and think up a new strategy! Flonne, wait up! We have to retreat!" Krugis ran after her again.

**Later**

"Whoosh!" Flonne said as they entered the throne room.

"We really should turn back." Krugis said, scanning the area for threats, his bow drawn.

Flonne darted to a doorway behind the throne and spoke again. "Nin, nin, nin." She said.

"Are the sound effects really necessary?" Krugis asked as they entered the bedroom. Krugis scanned the dark room with an arrow at the ready.

"Looks like we made it!" Flonne cheered.

"Y-yeah…I guess we did…" Krugis said, amazed.

"What do they call those guys in the human world that do this kind of thing?" Flonne asked.

"ninjas" Krugis replied.

"Oh yeah, I've always wanted to be one." Flonne said, smiling. "Maybe I have potential! Nin, nin!"

"_yeah right…"_ Krugis had an exasperated look on his face.

"Although, is it alright for us to be doing this?" Flonne asked. "Everyone says that demons are evil, but are they really? It doesn't seem fair to judge somebody, let alone an entire race based solely on rumors." Flonne said. "even if it's the Seraph's orders, it doesn't feel right assassinating someone I don't know." Flonne said.

"So it's right to kill someone you DO know?" Krugis asked.

"True…Can't kill strangers…definitely can't kill acquaintances…ooohhh what should we do?" Just as Flonne and Krugis were thinking about this, a high pitched voice came up from behind them.

"Who are you guys, and what are you doing in my room?" a young boy with weird antennae hair spoke to them.

"Gyahhh." Flonne instinctively shoved him away.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"_Is he a demon?"_ Krugis asked. _"I didn't think they could be this young"_

"I'm Flonne and this is Krugis. We're assassins." Flonne said like it was nothing.

"Please tell me you did not just say that…" Krugis begged.

"She's pretty dense isn't she?" Laharl asked Krugis.

"tell me about it…"

"how rude, calling someone you just met dense! And what more, talking about me like I'm not here."

"Trying to assassinate someone is a little ruder don't you think?" Laharl pointed out.

"You're right…I apologize." flonne said, bowing.

"Are you serious!" Krugis yelled.

"Well, we must be going now, good bye! We'll be back again later, I suppose." Flonne bowed one more time and ran off. Krugis ran after her.

"Hey, come back! Someone get in here! Sound the alarm." Laharl yelled.

**In the practice fields**

Fleck, Vic, and -San were huddled together whispering about something. "So just play it subtle, alright. Find out what you can and tell me. I'll take it from there." -San nodded.

"This isn't gonna work, dood." Vic said.

Before Fleck could reply, an thunderous ring echoed through the practice fields. A messenger came up to Misha and Mill and filled them in on the reason for the alarm. Mill ran up to Fleck and started to speak. "From what we can tell, there was an assa-" Fleck snapped his fingers and -San punched mill in the gut. "Gfooh! Why…?" Mill said, collapsing to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"I don't like it when you talk." Fleck then turned his attention to Misha who began explaining what Mill was.

"Apparently, there was an attempt on Master Laharls life 30 minutes ago. They escaped through the dimensional gate and are believed to be somewhere near the frozen river." Misha explained.

"The Frozen River? Hey, Silo, remember that was where we almost got-" Before Mill could finish, Silo snapped his fingers and -San kicked Mill in the gut while he was still on the ground. "Et Tu, Silo?"

"Well, what're we waiting for? Move out! -San you should report to your squad as well." Silo ordered. -San gave a respectful nod to everyone and ran off. Fleck, Vic, and Misha darted off to the dimensional gate while Silo helped up Mill.

"Wh-Why does Fleck hate me so much? I haven't done anything to him!" Mill complained. "Hell, I was friendlier to him than you were at first."

"Well you did sorta cock block him in the first chapter…" Silo pointed out. "Not to mention your also after his crush right?"

"He's still pissed about that? That's just pathetic…" A snapping sound was heard in the distance and -San leaped back on screen and punched Mill in the gut (again) and ran off back to his squad.

"I think it's best that you just stop talking…" Silo said.

**Dimensional gate**

When Fleck, Vic, and Misha arrived, the whole room was practically empty. "Do you think they already left?" Misha wondered out loud.

"Ah…then we should hurry up too, dood. If not, we could get fired." Vic panicked.

Misha and Vic went through the gate but Fleck stopped and turned around. He saw Celeste facing the wall, muttering about something. He ran over to her and asked what was wrong. "Is everything okay? Where's the rest of your squad?" Fleck asked.

"Huh? Oh! Hello Fleck…Well, the others already passed through the gate and I staid behind to use the bathroom." Celeste said, putting up a fake smile.

"okay, so what's the real reason?" Fleck asked.

"Well…some of the witnesses said that the assassins looked like angels and that one of them had black hair tie in a ponytail." Celeste said, a distressed look on her face.

"What, do you not like ponytails?" Fleck asked.

"No, it's not that. I just…I think it might be my br-" Before she could finish, mill and Silo interrupted them.

"Come on you guys, we're late! We have an assassin to capture and/or torture." Silo said. Mill shoved him aside, knelt to one knee and took Celeste's hand.

"Greetings my lady, how do you do?" he said in a clearly fake French voice.

"You don't know when to quit, do you?" Fleck said and snapped his fingers. -San leaped out of the dimensional gate and slammed a severed limb down on Mills' head and leaped back into the gate.

"Ahh! How'd you even hear that!" Mill complained.

"Let's just go!" Silo commanded.

**Frozen River**

"Damn…" Fleck said as he stepped through the gate. Hundreds of zombies were battling an equal number of lahars' forces. He spotted Misha, Vic, -San, and Neige locked in battle a short distance away.

"All right guys! Free for all!" Silo said, pulling out his axe and jumping into the fray.

"Uh…I'll just do what I usually do and attack from range…" mill said, channeling a star spell.

Fleck looked at Celeste with concern. She simply smiled at him. "I'll tell you later. Let's just focus on the mission." Fleck nodded and followed Silo into battle.

Vic slashed at the legs of a zombie, easily crippling it, and continued to do the same to several others. Misha provided follow up attacks by cutting off the heads as they fell. One zombie grabbed Vic and raised him into the air. "Misha, misha, do something, dood!" A sword burst through the zombies chest and continued to slice upward. It's arms went limp and Vic landed safely into misha's hands. "Thanks, dood." Misha simply pointed to Fleck who was busy hacking away at other zombies.

"Not to durable, huh?" Fleck said as he sliced another one in half.

"Where were you, dood? It's total chaos out here!" Vic said.

"yeah, but these dudes are freaking weak. See, watch." Fleck walked over and pushed one down, effortlessly. _"You know, necromancy doesn't really seem like the type of thing an angel should do…_" He thought. A large, fiery explosion echoed in the distance, a mushroom cloud rising high above them. "Looks like the Prince is going all out today. Fleck saw Silo, Misha, and Mill dart in the direction of the explosion and they called for the others to follow. Fleck, Vic, and Celeste followed, along with -San, Neige, and 2 others. One was a prinny with a cumbersome backpack on, while the other was a female warrior with a spear strapped to her back who had green hair. Fleck looked back and assumed they were the other two members of Celeste's squad that he had not yet met. The 10 of them waded through the hordes of enemies and stood at the top of a hill. They saw the two supposed assassins. Just as the witnesses described, they were clearly angels. Etna, Laharl and a small group of other soldiers stood in front of them. Laharl was yelling about how his hair was burned.

Celeste looked at on of the assailants and instantly recognized his long black hair. "Krugis…" Celeste said. Fleck looked at her, quizzically, as she pushed her way to the front of the group. "Krugis!" celeste yelled, her voice echoing through the snow covered landscape.

Krugis looked up and saw the woman who called his name. "Celeste…Why are you…?" He then placed his attention back on Laharl and Etna. _"I have to lose these two…"_ Krugis' eyes darted around the area, searching for a way out. He spotted a narrow passage between two large clusters of Ice spikes. Krugis turned his head towards Flonne and spoke. "We have to split up! It'll be easier to deal with them that way." He said. Before she could respond, Krugis darted off towards his escape route.

"Hey, get back here!" Laharl yelled. Flonne ran off as well in the opposite direction of Krugis. "Hey! Rrrghh! You guys! Don't just stand there!" Laharl pointed at Fleck and the others. "You guys go after the black haired one, the rest of us will chase the girl!" Laharl rallied the others around him and chased after Flonne. Fleck and the others went after Krugis as ordered.

As the group began to see more and more ice towering over them, the green haired woman with the spear stopped them, holding her hand out like a fence. "Hold on! From here on we should proceed carefully. I've explored this area once before. It's like a house of mirrors in there." She readied her spear and moved forward very slowly, keeping special attention to corners.

Silo moved forward towards Neige and whispered in her ear. "Who's she?"

"She's our squads point man, her name is Lyra. And before you ask, our prinny's name is-" Before Neige could finish, the aforementioned prinny was hit with an arrow and subsequently exploded. "Oh…well I guess it doesn't matter anymore…" Neige said, slightly disappointed that her bag carrier was just killed.

"I thought they only exploded when thrown?" Silo asked.

"The arrow probably just hit one of the bombes he had in his fanny pack or something…" Neige speculated.

"Pipe down! You'll give ourselves away!" Lyra yelled. The group moved deeper into the large cluster of Ice walls and spikes. Fleck could see his reflection as well as everyone else's in the ice, each one being reflected in different proportions depending on the angle.

Celeste heard a light ringing in her head. As she continued deeper into the Ice cavern with the others, the ringing grew louder and more frequent to the point to where it was starting to give her a headache. Before long, she collapsed to her knees, her head in her hands. Fleck noticed this and rushed to her side. "Hey, what's wrong?" Fleck knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey! If you don't hurry, you're gonna get left behind, dood!" Vic rushed over to Fleck and Celeste. "What's the matter with her, dood?" Vic asked.

"Hey! What's the hold u-" Before Silo could finish, a large wall of Ice erupted from the ground, separating the group.

"Gyahh! We're trapped here, dood! Why is it always you, me and here?" As if in response to Vic's question, another wall of Ice erupted out of the ground where he was standing, sending him flying into the air to parts unknown. "Whyyyy!" He yelled.

"I…I can hear him…" Celeste said, standing up. "He's calling me." her voice was monotone and relaxed.

"Hey, are you okay? You seem sort of- hey!" Celeste suddenly darted off deeper into the Ice maze they had walked into. "Come back here! We can't get separated!" Fleck chased after her, struggling just to keep a few feet behind. As Fleck ran he noticed the ground beneath him began to glow. He immediately rolled forward, dodging the Ice wall and avoiding Vic's fate.

**With the Others**

Silo slammed his axe into the ice wall several times, only making shallow dents. "This is bad… very, very, bad." Silo said, prying his axe out of the ice wall.

"Calm down…The last thing we need is another one of your panic attacks." Mill said, pulling out a bag of potato chips.

"How can you be so calm?" Neige asked him. "Your squad mate could be in mortal danger for all we know."

"We'll manage…" Mill said, showing little concern.

"This apathy is because of Fleck ordering -San to beat you up all the time, huh?" Misha asked.

"Oh yes." Mill smiled sadistically.

"As disturbing as his intentions are, Mill's right. I need to calm down." Silo said, taking deep breaths. "This isn't so bad. I mean, worst case scenario, we wander around in this maze for a few days and we have plenty of food to last us. Besides, we have someone who's an expert on the area." Silo said, referring to Lyra.

"Actually, I'm not an expert. I said I trained her _occasionally_. And by occasionally, I mean once every 6 months. I got lost for days in here one time and I almost froze to death. In fact, that's what might happen to us if we don't hurry." Lyra said.

"hm?" Silo had a worried expression on his face.

"We only seem to have enough food for 3 days. After that it's all over." Misha said.

"Ah…" Silo's eyes widened.

"Looks like we have company." -San and several others took a combat stance as several winged demons swooped down in front of them.

"aaaaAAAAAAAHHHHH-"

**Elsewhere**

"Celeste! (Huff…Huff) Wait up!" Fleck chased after Celeste, slowly giving in to fatigue. "Jeez…give a guy a break, why don' you?" As fleck plodded along, he slammed right into Celeste who had suddenly stopped. "What the…" Fleck rubbed his cheek and stood back up. "What's wrong?" Fleck stepped forward and looked ahead. He saw the angelic assassin standing atop a raised ice pillar in the center of a circular room created by the ice maze. "Why do they always have to make a flashy entrance?" Fleck muttered to himself.

"So…you actually made it." Krugis said, turning around to face them. "You always were a faithful si-who are you?" Krugis asked upon spotting fleck standing next to Celeste.

"I'm the guy you were luring here. Right?" Fleck said.

"I didn't want you! I just wanted her!" Krugis pointed at Celeste. "I knew I should've practiced my accuracy with those ice walls…"

"Well, here I am. Consider this a two for one deal." Fleck said, drawing his sword.

"Well, I guess one more person won't really change anything." Krugis snapped his fingers and the dazed look in Celeste's eyes vanished.

As she fell to her knees, Fleck caught her and held her up. "Hey, stay with me here." he said.

"Mmmhh…Wha? What's happening?" Celeste looked around and saw Krugis on top of the platform. "Krugis!" Celeste said, shoving Fleck aside.

"Nice of you to join us, little sister." Krugis said, drawing his bow. "You remember what I said I'd do if we ever met again, right?" Krugis readied an arrow and took aim. "I'll finish off you two and deal with the rest."

"Us two?" Celeste looked to her side and noticed Fleck laying on the ground in a depressed state. "Oh, hi fleck."

"Yeah…hi…" Fleck pulled himself together and stood up. "So you're her brother huh? Honestly, you aren't what I expected you to be."

"Well, technically, I'm her half-brother, but that still doesn't change the fact that you're going to die here." Krugis said.

"I don't believe an angel would kill his own sis-" An arrow whizzed by Fleck's cheek, blood seeping out of the shallow cut. "-ter…" Fleck and Celeste immediately ducked behind a nearby ice boulder for cover. Krugis began firing arrows like a machine gun.

"What the hell! Are you sure this guy is your brother! Not some crazy lunatic who thinks he's your brother?" Fleck asked.

"Yeah, it's him. He's the only one I know who can fire arrows this fast." Celeste said.

"Why does he hate you so much?"

Celeste scooted over one inch to avoid an arrow that almost hit her leg. "We should probably focus on him right now."

"Yeah…" Fleck peeked past the boulder. Krugis was not letting up. "I bet the others don't have to put up with this…"

**With the others**

"AAAAGGGHHHH!" Silo slammed his axe down, cutting one of the winged demons in half. "How many of these things are there?"

"You know what they say…" Lyra skewered two demons with her spear and flung them at several others. "Nut up or shut up."

"This is such bull crap!" Silo yelled.

"I'll bet Fleck's having it pretty easy by now." Mill said, incinerating an enemy with a star spell.

**Back with Fleck**

"God! Doesn't this guy ever run out of arrows! I'll bet you can't even see the rock through all the arrows on that side anymore." Fleck complained.

"He's very determined…" Celeste said. "He always had a habit of over preparing."

In complete desperation, Fleck clapped his hands together and closed his eyes. "Hello, God? It's me, Fleck. I know I haven't exactly been the most faithful guy in the netherworld but I just want to say: If you get us out of this, I'd really appreciate it." As Fleck finished he looked at Celeste who gave him a WTF look. "What?"

"I don't think God answers the prayers of Demons…At least I don't think he does…" Celeste said. "Hey, do you hear screaming?" Celeste and Fleck heard a very distant scream that seemed to grow louder by the second.

Even Krugis stopped his onslaught to find out where the scream was emanating from. He eventually looked up and saw a penguin shaped dot rushing towards him from the sky. "What in the-!" Before long, Krugis was suddenly engulfed in a huge explosion as Vic made impact.

"H-holy crap! That praying stuff actually works! I should do this more often." Fleck cheered. He stood up and ran over to Krugis who was nowhere to be seen. He then saw that Vic was roasting in his own crater. "Vic! Nice aim man!" Fleck ran over and gave his side kick a hug.

"Uh…eghhh." Vic slurred, still disoriented.

As the two were enjoying themselves, Celeste spotted Krugis pull himself out of a nearby rock pile. "Ah!" Krugis channeled a fire ball into his hands and prepared to launch it at Fleck and Vic from behind. "No!" Celeste jumped between Fleck and the fireball and put up a barrier around herself. As the fireball made contact, the resulting explosion sent all three of them flying out of the crater and landing with a painful sounding thud.

"Owww….! Celeste!" Fleck quickly got up and looked for Celeste. She was lying, face down in the snow, unconscious.

"Don't let your guard down!" Krugis drew his sword and rushed at Fleck. Fleck parried the attack and kicked Krugis in the ribs, causing them both to skid a way from each other. "Cheeky little…" As Krugis readjusted himself to face Fleck, he saw that his opponent was already ready to strike.

"_I hope this works…"_ Fleck braced himself. "Blade Rush!" Fleck pushed off his back leg and charged forward with incredible speed. "Eat this you-" Fleck's words were interrupted by his blade clanging against Krugis'. "Impossible…"

"You're skills are mediocre at best." While their blade were still locked, Krugis punched Fleck square in the face, sending the young thief spiraling backwards through the air and into a rock. Krugis then flew into the air and raised his sword which began to glow a light green color. "This is the power of a real warrior. Not some thief pretending to be one!" Krugis swung forward and sent a large energy wave straight at Fleck. "Wind Cutter!" He yelled as he did so.

"This is it!" Fleck raised his hand and covered his eyes, waiting for the end. Surprisingly (subtitle: predictably) it never came. Upon realizing he hadn't felt any pain or spiritual release, Fleck opened his eyes and found that he was sitting on top of the trembling wings of Vic. "When did you wake up?" Fleck asked.

"Just in time, apparently…dood." Vic dropped Fleck on his ass and pulled out a new sword out of his bag and handed it to him. "take this, dood. The other one got destroyed with that last attack." Fleck took the sword, examined it and turned to face Krugis.

"Quite the faithful companion you have there…" Krugis commented. "From what I've observed of most prinnies, they usually run at the first sign of danger." Krugis slowly floated down. "Just make this easier for all of us and surrender, will you? I'd rather not use more energy than I have, already."

"Strunheimel!" a loud voice rang out through the valley. Krugis looked up and saw his sister in the air and a glowing arrow notched on her bow. "Sorry Krugis." Celeste said as she let the arrow loose. The arrow then split into several more arcs of light and unleashed an immense barrage down on Krugis, and unfortunately, Fleck and Vic, causing all three to run around in panic.

"When did she learn that!" Krugis yelled as he struggled to avoid each bolt.

"Shut it and-" Before fleck could finish, all three of them were engulfed by a large explosion.

Celeste landed on her feet as her attack finished. "I haven't let loose like that in a long time!" Celeste stretched and took a look at her surroundings. "Ooohh…" The area around her was reduced to a smoldering crater. The ice within the immediate area was actually starting to melt. "Perhaps I went a little too far…"

"You think, dood!" Vic yelled as he and Fleck suddenly rose up from a pile of rubble.

"Oh! You're alright!" Celeste cheered.

"Yeah…barely…" Fleck went over to Krugis who was lying face down in the dirt. "Alright mister assassin, time to fess up! Why did you come here!" Fleck yelled.

"Rrrgh…" Krugis simply grumbled.

"If he was an assassin, his reason for being here would be pretty obvious, dood." Vic pointed out.

"…So you're here for Prince Laharl, is that it?"

"…chevskoy…" Krugis muttered.

"Huh?"

"We came here to assassinate King Krichevskoy. As Overlord, he represente the very threat that-" Before Krugis could finish, Fleck and Vic burst into laughter while Celeste turned away and snickered. Fleck ended up dropping Krugis in his laughter. "What? What's so funny!"

"You…Haha…You guys don't get out much in Celestia do you?…" Fleck said, calming down a little. "King Krichevskoy is dead. He's been dead for over two years now…" Fleck saw Krugis's expression change from curiosity to shock and then to horror.

"Wait, so that means that…I…You…we…" Krugis stammered. "We came here for nothing!" Krugis yelled, his voice echoing in the distance.

"Pretty much. How did you guys not know this? I mean, granted, our matters here in the netherworld rarely ever cross with that of Celestia, but the Overlord dying is something you guys should be aware of right?" Fleck said. Krugis wasn't listening. He was looking up into the sky, on his knees with a look on his face that said "What did I do? Just tell me what I did to deserve this?"

"I don't think we'll be getting anymore out of him, dood." Vic said.

"Well then, all we need to do now is to find the others and-" As fleck stepped forward to grab Krugis, a long, streak of Light dashed right in front of him. "What the…!" Fleck followed it's trail with his eyes and saw that the streak of light was actually a demon impaled on a spear (which was now pinned to a wall). "Who the…"

"Fleck, look!" Celeste pointed to a newly formed opening in the canyon which revealed Silo and the rest of the group to be alright.

"Could you hand me my spear please? Thos things can be really expensive." Lyra said.

"Did you win!" Silo yelled. "I called the prince and told him where we are. He'll send a team to pick us up in a few minutes." Fleck, vic, and Celeste smiled at each other, relieved that this whole things was finally over.

**Several hours later, The Castle**

"So…where's the other assassin?" Silo asked, taking a sip of some hot coco. Celeste's squad and Fleck's squad were gathered in a circle around a table in one of the lounges set up in the castle.

"I heard that she wants to stay here in the netherworld to study the behavior of demons." Neige replied. "I heard that Krugis guy is being forced to stay here on her behalf."

"Why would he do that?" Mill asked. "He seemed like the guy that bolt the first chance he got."

"Pride, maybe? You know, chivalry." Silo speculated. The table soon erupted into a debate on the matters of chivalry and it's application to demon society when Celeste left the room. Fleck noticed and wondered if he should follow her. Vic gave him a reassuring nudge with his…elbow? (do prinnies even have elbows?). Fleck nodded and followed Celeste out of the room.

When Fleck opened the door she found her leaning against the wall, deep in thought. "Hey." Celeste turned around, slightly surprised to see him. "Are you alright?"

"Not really. Most people would be happy to be reunited with a long lost brother, and I am, but I'm not sure if the feeling is mutual." Celeste said.

"Well, tell me. Maybe talking about it would relieve some of the stress." Fleck said.

"Alright…" Celeste took a deep breath. "You know how I'm a fallen angel? Well, you see I was already fallen when I was born."

"What do you mean?"

"You remember how Krugis said we were half siblings? We had the same mother but different fathers." Celeste explained. "I never met Krugis's father, but from what he told me, he was a powerful warrior who died in battle several centuries ago. Krugis had great admiration of him and his death left him pretty shaken. Less than 10 years after his death, our mother went on a small expedition to the netherworld. I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps it was to get away from everything. Whatever the reason, she fell in love with a demon there, and gave birth to me." Celeste paused to let Fleck take all of this in and then continued. "My Mother then did what no angel should do. She brought her new husband into Celestia. My brother was attending a military academy at the time of her arrival so she was able to keep it a secret. For a while. She had hoped Krugis would understand when she told him. But when she did, he was disgusted and reported us to the current Seraph at the time: Seraph Bolverk. Upon hearing this, my mother, and me were captured. The seraph gave my mom a choice: either Kill me and her new lover and stay in celestia or be banished to the netherworld. In the end, she chose me, and with me, banishment. Shortly after that my mother and me were banished to the netherworld as Fallen angels but my father was executed in Celestia. And to top it off, my brother blames me for everything what happened." Celeste finished her story and waited for Fleck's response.

"Wow…just…wow…" Fleck said, taking everything in. "So wait…he blames _you_ form tearing his family apart when it was him who reported you guys in the first place."Fleck said. "That's…sorta retarded."

"I can sort of understand what he's feeling. His own mother chose to side with a demon instead of her own son. He must feel betrayed or something. That's why I'll accept his hatred of me for now." Celeste said. "Thank you for listening. You were right, it did relieve some of the stress."

"Glad I could help!" Fleck said.

"Well…I feel a little tired. I'll head to bed early today. See you tomorrow!" Celeste said in a cheerful tone and walked away. Fleck looked at her with a worried expression. He sighed and walked back into the lounge.

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

FLECK: The assassin, Krugis, and his group of bloodthirsty mercenaries have succeeded in killing lord Laharl and destroyed the castle.

VIC: dood! That's terrible!

FLECK: only Fleck and a rag tag group of survivors are left to pick up the pieces

MILL: why are you the only one that's mentioned?

FLECK: as the Celestial armies swoop in to take control, chaos erupts across the netherworld as the new empire is established!

SILO: you guys are still at it?

FLECK: Fleck's army stands at the ready! The angels have no idea what threat awaits them. Next time on Revolutionary warrior: Disgaea: rainy days and bleeding hearts!

VIC:… you're making this up as you go, aren't you?

This chapter got a lot more serious than I initially intended at the very end. Actually, the entire middle portion of this chapter was devoid of any real jokes. I especially didn't like the fight with Krugis…(sigh)…well, hopefully next time will be better. See ya then!

**Profiles:**

**Neige**: The leader of Celeste's squad, she's an archer and is unusually kind hearted for a demon. Although she doesn't always show it, she's very self conscious about her skills and is a bit of a perfectionist. Although that could be labeled as a flaw, her self conscious nature has caused her to hone her skills to near perfection.

**Lyra:** a newly introduced member of Celeste's squad. She takes pride in the fact that she has explored almost every part of the netherworld. If you're going somewhere and have no info about it, Lyra knows something about it 9 out of 10 times. Why she decided to suddenly settle down in lahars's castle is a subject of debate among several of it's residents. Some say it was due to sheer laziness, while others say it was because she owes Laharl money and is paying it off. Whatever the reason, she has become an invaluable asset to the castle.


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome back to the show! Now with 70% more -San!

-SAN: Yes! Finally!

Oh, sorry. I mean Sun. Now with 70% more SUN. sorry, I couldn't see the cue card.

-SAN: Oh, come on!

Thanks for waiting!

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

**Chapter 4: A Hint of…*sniff* *sniff*…eww… a hint of something…but I don't know what…**

**Training grounds**

You should know the formula by know. Fleck and his squad are seated around a make shift table in the training grounds while Celeste and her squad are off in the archery range just a little over to the side. This time, they were playing snakes and ladders because, while cards and chess show some class, _no one_ is too sophisticated for snakes and ladders. Fleck rolled the dice in his hand, hoping for a high number. "Come on…" Fleck let the dice fly and he hit a 7. Fleck counted the spaces and saw that it would land him on a snake. Fleck kicked the table one more time, changing his roll to a 6.

"Hey! No cheating!" Mill called out. Fleck snapped his fingers and a chair crashed into Mills back, breaking into several pieces and knocking the healer out.

"Okay seriously! You need to quit that! I mean come on, It's getting annoying as hell!" Silo complained.

Fleck simply shrugged and handed the dice to Vic. "Vic, It's your turn!" Fleck waited several seconds to find that he still held the dice. "Vic?" Fleck looked next to him and saw that Vic wasn't there. He looked around and saw a crowd of Prinnies gathered around a small window built into the wall with a sign over it that said "CHECK RETRIEVAL" in big red letters.

"That booth should've opened 2 hours ago." We can't possibly find him in that crowd so just-" before silo could finish Fleck walked over to the crowd, quickly skimmed over the prinnies present there and grabbed one right out of the flock. "I don't think that's Vic." Silo said.

"It's your turn Vic." Fleck said.

Vic seemed more anxious than usual. "But…but it was gonna open any minute! I could feel it!" Vic said this as though he was a drug addict who hasn't had a hitt it 3 weeks.

"it didn't open two hours ago and it's not going to open anytime soon. All that's left is to suck it up and play." Fleck said casually.

"Hey…" Misha started. "How can you tell Vic apart from all the other prinnies?"

"What? You mean you haven't noticed?" Fleck said as though it were (was?) the most obvious thing in the world. "Vic has one less stitch around his stomach than all the others." Fleck pointed out, picking up another prinny along with Vic for comparison.

Silo and Misha squinted and leaned in closer to examine the two prinnies. "I can kinda see it…" Silo said.

"your eyes just aren't as awesome as mine." Fleck bragged.

"Clearly…"

"So who do they have manning the check collection booth, anyway?" Fleck asked.

"Who do ya think?" Silo replied.

The windows of the booth opened up to reveal Krugis with an annoyed look on his face. _"I can't believe I'm debasing myself like this! This is all Flonne's fault!"_ As soon as Krugis stepped to the front desk, all the prinnies swarmed around him, demanding their pay. "Calm down you morons! Prince Laharl refuses to pay all of you directly so instead-" Before Krugis could finish, the prinnies immediately leaped into the booth and proceeded to pummel the living crap out of him.

"H-holy crap! This is hilarious!" Fleck said, taking pictures. Then, a sudden realization dawned on him. "Wait…if the prinnies aren't getting paid then…" As fleck said this, Mill and Silo also came to the same conclusion: they weren't getting paid either!" The three of them rushed over to the crowd of prinnies and swatted them all away.

As Krugis dusted himself off and was about to say thank you, Fleck grabbed his by the collar and smashed his forehead into Krugis'. "What the hell!" he said as fleck dropped him.

"All right asshole! What's this we hear about no pay!" Fleck yelled.

"First off…" Krugis stood up. "Don't attack _me_ when it's Laharl who refuses to pay you. Secondly, since he has refused to pay in the traditional sense, he has opted for a more unorthodox solution. We are going to the richest person within a 100 mile radius of this castle and, quote: "Raid the living shit out of him" unquote." Krugis finished.

"So in other words, we have to start a small war just to get this months paycheck." Mill commented.

"Yes, that's the gist of it."

"All right, I'm cool with that." everyone else unanimously agreed and walked back to their table, save for vic.

"But…I was supposed to…I just…I just want enough to pay for a meal at Claims Jumper…I can't keep…I…" Speechless, Vic went rigid.

"Come on, are you really that surprised?" Fleck picked vic up and carried him under his arm back to the table.

Krugis dusted off his sleeves and felt a sore spot in his shoulder. A warm green light surrounded him and the pain instantly went away. "Hm?" Krugis looked over to see his half sister smiling at him. "Hmph." he grunted.

Celeste suddenly felt very uncomfortable. "Listen…Krugis, I…" Before she finished, Krugis walked up to her.

"Don't get the wrong idea. The only reason I'm here is because my partner is an idiot and I don't know how to get in contact with my superiors." Krugis was glaring at her now. "So just do your thing and I'll do mine." with that, Krugis brushed past her and exited the courtyard.

"Nice guy, huh?"

Celeste turned around and saw Neige standing in front of her. "Neige…"

"Let's talk." She said. Just as the two started towards the door, neige stopped. "Wait a sec." Neige pulled her hand back and punched into the wall. Instead of making a cracking or grinding noise, a loud "oof!" was heard. A ninja, painted the same color and design of the brick wall fell to the ground, clutching his nads. "Nice try -San, but no eavesdropping today, got it?" Neige said.

"Y-yeah…"

"You okay?" Celeste asked. -San gave a thumbs up to signal that he was.

"You know, I never heard of a Ninja getting socked in the balls before…" Neige commented as the two girls walked back into the castle.

-San waited for the door to close before muttering: "I'm such a failure…"

"You're goddamn right you are! That was some of the worst sneaking around I've ever seen!" Fleck yelled. "Well, no use fretting about it now. Come on big guy! We've got a paycheck to steal." Fleck said dragging an ashamed -San by the scarf and carrying vic under his arm.

"It's not like reconciling several centuries of bad blood is gonna happen over night." Neige said. She and Celeste were talking in one of the many hallways of the castle and Celeste had just explained the situation between her and her brother to Neige.

"I know, but still…" Celeste had a pained look on her face.

"Look, forcing it isn't gonna make things any better, and it doesn't seem like he's gonna leave any time soon." Neige said in a comforting tone. "Just take it slow and everything should fall into place."

"I guess so…" As Celeste gave a sad smile, the alarm went off.

"That's our cue! Well, time to pay! And if we fail at that then we wrest it our of the cold dead hands of our enemies! Right!" Neige said, over enthusiastically.

Celeste could tell she was trying to make her laugh and responded with an equally determined "Right!"

Krugis wandered through the halls of the castle and eventually found his way to the dimensional gate. Several heavily armed warriors were gathered in front of it. All of them were talking with their comrades or checking their equipment. "At least I'll be able to take my frustrations out on whoever's on the other side." Krugis was about walk closer to the gate when a high pitched and cheery voice echoed across the room towards him. "M-miss Flonne…How are you doing?" Krugis turned around and saw flonne walking alongside Laharl and Etna.

"I've been just fine! There are so many new things I've learned here! The netherworld isn't as bad as they say in Celestia." Flonne said.

"I'll-" A demon bumbed into Krugis before he could respond.

"Watch it ass wipe!" he yelled.

"I'll believe it when I see it…" While Krugis refused to consider demons nothing short of evil, he had to admit. The higher ups in Celestia blew the strife in the netherworld out of proportion. Yeah, it wasn't exactly paradise, but it wasn't the den of suffering and pain the propagandists made it out to be. The worst that anyone has done to him so far is call him a few nasty names. They weren't so much as minions of destruction so much as they were annoying neighbors. Still, it was too early to finalize anything. "Perhaps observing their behavior isn't such a bad idea after all." Krugis muttered to himself. "So, prince Laharl." Krugis suddenly spoke up. "Which person are we going to rob?"

Laharl grinned. "I just so happen to know of a fool who shows off his wealth more times than I care to count. For his arrogant display, we shall strike him down and take all of his wealth with us! Since his money is going to a much better cause than being pompous, I'm sure he won't mind." Laharl let out a loud laugh.

"Besides…" Etna began. "He's another competitor for the title of Overlord so we'd be killing two birds with one stone."

"So I assume you'll be putting me at the very front of your army, hoping that I'll get killed in the commotion?" Krugis said.

"We don't care." Laharl said walking right past him. "You're not on my pay roll, officially, so I don't really care what you do. Actually, I'm surprised you did the job of informing the prinnies that they wouldn't get a paycheck this month. I never said you _had_ to." Laharl said, grinning evilly. All three of them walked off towards the dimensional gate, Flonne waving bye to Krugis.

"But…I…Oh I get it. He's pulling the reverse psychology trick on me. He thinks that my pride won't allow me to sit out a battle." Krugis said to no one in particular. "Well I'm not going to fall for this basic trap." Krugis turned away and walked down the hall. "Nope…not even gonna look…" Krugis stopped. "…" he looked back at the gate as The trio and several others disappeared into it. Krugis sighed. "Stupid pride…" Krugis drew his bow and notched an arrow as he followed the others into the gate.

"Hey, looks like we came here just in time!" Fleck said as he and the others entered the main hall and saw everyone entering the gate.

"You seem awfully chipper about this." Misha commented.

"You bet! Since this isn't a normal check, I have the advantage here as a thief. I can get way more cash total than all the other soldiers here, combined!" Fleck cheered.

"Hey, check it out." Silo said, tapping Fleck's shoulder and pointing to another crowd of prinnies. One of them was giving a speech on top of a wooden crate.

"The check hasn't come because you all took it for granted, dood." It preached. "Repent! Repent! And thou shall receive not just a check…but a raise!" All the other prinnies cheered.

"Seriously? One late check and they start a doomsday cult about it…" Fleck said with an exasperated look on his face. "Right, Vic?" Fleck said. "Vic?" Fleck looked under his arm and saw that he wasn't carrying vic anymore. He looked over and saw him with that new cult. "Vic!" Fleck went over and grabbed him by the beak, pulling him back towards the group. "Seriously! Pull it together! Look, I'll split some of my loot with you, okay?"

Vic's eyes suddenly lit up. "Sure, Dood. You're the best employer a guy could ask for, dood."

"That was a quick recovery." Silo commented. "Come on, we'll be left behind at this rate!" Silo leaded their squad straight through the portal.

**Golden Castle**

"Daaaaamn…" Silo held his hand over his eyes to protect them from the gleam of the sun. "I can't believe he actually made a golden front gate…Seems like he's trying to compensate for something."

"Really? Dick jokes? We're really going to sink that low?" Mill complained.

"What? I wasn't talking about _that?_ I'm just saying, maybe he's just trying to grab attention." Silo replied.

"Why would he spend so much money to do that?"

"It's not that hard to imagine." Krugis butted in. "People who spend so much money on extravagant things like this are usually very insecure inside and have a strong desire to show others up just to feel good about themselves. And yet they show this fact to everyone with enough common sense and end up looking more pathetic than before they started showing off." Krugis took a deep breath as he finished his longwinded monologue.

"Isn't gold supposed to be really squishy? I'll bet they have to get this replaced regularly…" Mill said, jabbing the end of his staff into one of the bars on the gate.

"I'm sure there's some brass, or copper or something in there." Silo replied

"Were you even listening!" Krugis yelled.

"You did trap us in an ice maze and sent hordes of demons after us. Don't expect a warm welcome." Lyra said from out of nowhere.

"You…You're the spear woman from the ice river." Krugis said. "Where's the rest of your squad?"

"Our prinny was just killed yesterday, thanks to you, -San is over there next to Fleck, and Neige and your sister are still at the castle." Lyra replied.

"Don't call her my sis-"

"And stop with the angst routine. Seriously, you don't pull it off too well." Lyra said, chuckling.

"R-routine!" Krugis was very flustered.

"Yeah, you'd be surprised how many people like you there are out there." Lyra shrugged her shoulders. "And they weren't limited to just sister issues."

"Hey! Lyra! Over here!" Neige yelled. She had Celeste and their replacement prinny next to here.

"That's my cue. See ya around." Lyra ran over to her squad mates, leaving Krugis in a bit of a dazed state.

"Enough Waiting around. Pretty much everyone is here so we're ready to begin operation: _rob till you drop_" Laharl declared loudly.

"_Lame…"_ Everyone thought.

"Scout! Report."

one of the soldier walked up to lahars, a pair of binoculars around his neck "There seems to be this outer wall and another inner wall just inside. It's save to say that we'll be attacked as soon as we get in.

"Doesn't seem like we have much of a choice. Someone smash open the gate!" Laharl yelled.

"If I may?" Fleck said and pulled out several lock picks. "There are other methods to brute force, you know."

**From a Distance**

"So that's him?" a young woman watch fleck from the shadows. She had light blue hair, blue eyes and wore what appeared to be a French maid's outfit. "He's a lot shorter than I imagined." She said, grinning. "It ticks me off…Why the hell was he chosen!"

**Back with fleck**

"Aaand done!" Fleck said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "What do you guys think? Pretty cool huh?" Fleck looked over and saw that the others were already going through a hole in the wall made by some other guy. "Wah? B-but…oh, fine…" Fleck dejectedly walked through the gate to wait for everyone else.

"Ready!…Fire!" Several archers and mages fired arrows and spells at Laharls advancing army from atop the large inner wall. Several foot soldiers spread themselves across the large stone steps leading up to the front door, ready to die defending their post.

"spread out! Give them smaller targets to work with." Laharl ordered. Everyone immediately spread out into smaller separate groups and attacked different areas, simultaneously.

"Hmph…How pedestrian." The commander scoffed. " Alright, focus on one or two groups at a time. There aren't that many so we should be able to thin them out for when our reinforcements arrive."

"Oh, I'm not so sure about that…" Krugis said.

"Wha?" The commander turned around and saw Krugis floating behind him and his archery squad. "A-an Angel? What's an angel doing he-"

Krugis sliced off his head and watched him tumble down to the ground below. "Sorry…but reinforcements won't be coming." Krugis gestured to the large number of dead soldiers off in the inner courtyard.

"Th-there's no way you could've done that on your own!" one of the archers yelled.

"And yet, here we are!" Krugis raised his blade into the air. "Winged Slayer!" Krugis swung his sword downward and the enemy archers, along with a good portion of the wall were annihilated.

"Damn, man…The guys a walking corpse factory. Hard to believe he's related to Celeste." Fleck said.

"He…um…He sorta reminds me of gwen, dood." Vic said, having a flashback.

"Gwen…" Fleck looked down, a haunted look on his face as he remembered the reason he even signed up for Laharl's army.

"Who's gwen?" Mill asked.

"My….my sister…" Fleck said, still traumatized.

"Oh…is she single." Mill said, grinning.

"Dude, for both are sakes, don't even think about it."

"What do you think she's doing now, dood." Vic asked.

"If she hasn't completely destroyed the town, lounging around on the sofa. If she has, plotting our deaths as she tracks us down." Fleck replied, gulping.

"Was she that bad?" Misha asked.

"She once made me drink 16 gallons of irradiated fluids just because she wanted a nightlight, dood." Vic said.

"He still has an aftertaste." Fleck whispered into Misha's ear. "He's kinda sensitive about it."

"Hey!" Laharl yelled from atop the steps. "We're ready to enter the castle! Get ready!"

Fleck and the others exchanged glances and joined the large group that formed at the front gates. Several demons held up a large battering ram. After three solid hits, the doors toppled and everyone swarmed in. Healers and archers stayed in the very back while front line soldiers searched the place thoroughly. Those with good stealth skills, (I.e thieves and ninjas) went off to scout out the rest of the complex or started looting.

Fleck ran ahead of his squad and joined up with several other thieves and started giving a pep talk. "Alright, If we're all going to come out of this with a profit we'll have to do this quickly and professionally. We've all seen the movies, anyone who tries to deviate and leave the group for dead always ends up on the chopping block." Fleck continued his speech to the other thieves about how it will be better in the long run if they work together than get greedy and steal everything for themselves.

"I've never seen him get so passionate about something before…" Celeste commented.

"it's in his blood, dood." Vic said. "He graduated from college with a major in theft, and a minor in psychology."

"They have schools for this!" Krugis yelled in surprise.

"Why psychology?" Neige asked.

"It's so that he can predict peoples actions better, dood. He might look like an idiot, but he knows his stuff."

"but I've seen him do crazier stuff than most of the people here." Celeste said.

"He told me that just because you know how to control yourself, doesn't mean you always should, dood." Vic said.

"Hey…" Laharl examined one of the vases placed on display. He looked around at some of the paintings and tapestries. "All of this stuff used to be in the castle. I remember them from when I was little!"

"Then the lord of this castle must be a former vassle of your father's." Etna deduced.

"Then this should be interesting! Prinnies, this is for your paychecks! You better work hard!" Laharl orderd, an amused grin spreading across his face.

"Yes sir, dood!" Several prinnies, and vic, saluted and assisted in the looting/ scouting.

"Hmmmm…" Flonne looked deep in thought.

"What's wrong?" Celeste asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that prinnies in celestia behave differently than the ones here. Back home, all they did was chores like taking out trash and doing laundry." Flonne stated.

"No matter what they do, they're all the same on the inside." fleck said, suddenly finished with his group. "All prinnies are actually the souls of the deceased who led worthless and sinful lives. They're all either murderers or thieves." Fleck looked at Vic with a serious look.

"In celestia, they do chores and manual labor for free while in the netherworld they do super hard, and usually deadly, work for less than minimum wage. Once they've repented or saved up enough, they can be reincarnated on the night of the red moon." Krugis finished.

"I see…I wonder what Vic used to be…" Celeste rubbed her chin, imagining what he might be.

"He keeps bragging about how he was the most powerful warrior in the netherworld, or something. Personally, I think he's just trying to mess with me, but you never know." Fleck said.

**Elsewhere**

-San leaped down from an air conditioning vent in the ceiling, landing right on his feet. "Infiltration complete." He scanned the long hallway and saw nothing worth noting except for the annoying glare coming from the gold furniture and decoration. "God, how can someone live like this…" -San said, trying to shield his eyes. "I should put in a request to make sunglasses part of the required equipment list." -San sensed someone nearby and threw a kunai behind him. Instead of an agonized scream or the "shunk" sound of the Kunai piercing someone's skin, he heard the metallic clang of something deflecting it. "Hm?"

"Is that really the way to welcome an old friend." said a young girl with blue hair.

"Alice… what are you doing here." -San asked.

"Same thing you were doing." She replied.

"Scouting?"

"No, idiot, before you turned traitor." Alice scowled. "You remember, stealing the spotlight and all that?" She playfully walked around -San.

"You people are still obsessed with being the main character?" -San glared at Alice.

"Of course…Why wouldn't we?" Alice asked.

"How about the fact that it's pointless. Your characters were tried and scrapped." -San said bluntly.

Alice glared. "Easy for you to say! You already have your part in the story! But I'm not gonna settle for a sidekick role! I'm gonna take this whole thing by storm!" Alice yelled.

"Then there's no point talking!" -San threw more kunai at Alice. She deflected them easily and fired an Ice spell in retaliation. "Dammit!" -San leaped back to avoid being.

"You know, if you ask nicely, I'll let you join up with me!" Alice offered.

"I know a double cross when I see one. Besides, even if you didn't intend to betray me, I doubt my circumstances would change that much from right now." -San stated.

"Hmph. Suit yourself. I guess I'll have to deliver quality to this series on my own then." Alice sighed and teleported away.

-San glared at the spot where she just stood. "…This could get complicated."

"Report!" Laharl ordered as one of the many scouts returned.

"Me and the others have managed to locate where the ruler of this castle is. From what I've gathered, the most direct paths to the throne room would be through the eastern or northern door. However, each one is loaded with guards."

"So in other words, it's nothing we haven't dealt with before." Laharl speculated. The scout nodded, vigorously.

"All right! We're going to split up and take both paths at once. Squads B, D, F, and J come with me through the north door while the rest of you go through the east door." Laharl yelled. The whole army cheered in confirmation of the order.

"I'm getting goosebumps." Silo said, a huge grin on his face.

"Why?" mill asked.

"Haven't you noticed? We never get to accompany the prince on anything because we always get dragged into some huge fight that doesn't even seem to matter." Silo said. "Well… none of that matters now. I have a really good feeling about today." Silo was contemplating in his had that he had just jinxed everyone when the grating of a vent in the wall was kicked open, smacking Silo clean across the face and knocking him out. -San then leaped out of the now open vent and turned towards Fleck who was in shock at what just happened.

"Master Fleck! There is a grave matter I must discuss with you." -San had a serious look in his eye as he spoke, prompting Fleck to get serious as well. Fleck, his squad and -San moved towards the back of the group so no one would hear them. "Do you remember when I fought you and your squad in mid-boss's castle?"

"Yeah…something about my sister right?" Fleck guessed.

"What? No. I fought you to take your place as the main character." -San corrected.

"…Oh! Right…I remember now…yeah…" Fleck said, clearly having no idea what -San was talking about. "And you're sure my sister wasn't involved in any way." Fleck asked.

"Just listen. You remember when I said that a lot goes on in production? Well, the person that's after you now is another scrapped character like me, except she has an actual name." -San pause to make sure fleck was listening. "Now, this person is particularly dangerous to this story of ours."

"Why's that?" Silo asked.

"Well…she wants to turn this story into a…how to put this lightly…a magical girl anime…" -San said.

Fleck's expression slowly went from calm and indifferent to horrified and disturbed. "We can't let that happen!" Fleck yelled. "I mean, sure this show doesn't exactly have the strongest plot, but you don't have to debase it into something like a magical girl show! That's like adding insult to injury." Fleck yelled.

(Authors note: my apologies to all the fans of magical girl animes.)

"Guys, for the dignity of this show, we have to stop this chick." Fleck said, the lighting in the room becoming much more epic than the situation called for.

"We had dignity?" Mill asked.

"How hard could it be?" Silo asked. As Laharl kicked down the next set of doors, an entire army waited for them on the other side. The hallway, stairs, and balconies were line with archers, warriors and mages. A single blue haired girl stood at the very back. The doorway to the throne room right behind her.

"None shall pass…." She said with a cheery voice and a grin to match. "Charge!"

"You just had to open you god damn mouth…" mill muttered, blasting a star spell into the crowd of bloodthirsty mercenaries.

"Scatter!" Laharl yelled. Everyone braced themselves and expected to be smashed and impaled against the doorway…but the attacks never came.

"What the…" Neige looked at the pathetic display in front of her. The large fighting force, armed to the teeth, and ready to tear anyone limb from limb, was now smashed together in the narrow hallway. "why aren't they moving?"

"I think…" Lyra started. "I think the hallway got so crowded with soldiers that they actually all got stuck. It's like trying to fit an adult's hand in a Pringles can. You can get it in part of the way but it'll get stuck eventually."

"That's just…unbelievably pathetic…I mean, come on…" Fleck said.

"Do we…do we still have to kill them?" Misha asked.

A large explosion rocked the hall they were standing in. "What the-!" Laharl looked around and saw that Mill had fired another spell at the stunned archers, wiping them out.

"What? They were still the enemy."

"Sir, do we really still need to kill them? It just seems like a bit of a…well a dick move." Silo said.

"But how do we get across?" Misha asked.

"Well…" Silo placed his hand on his chin and looked like he was thinking really hard.

"If you don't come up with a plan soon, the prince will just start carving right through them." Misha stated.

"Oh! What if we-" Before silo could finish, Krugis grabbed hi by the collar and threw him into the air. "What? Wait, what are you-!" Silo bounced off the ceiling and landed (crashed) diagonally down to the floor past the crammed in guards. "Why…?"

Misha immediately pulled out her sword with the intent to kill Krugis but was stopped by Mill. "Whoa there! Easy, girl! We don't need to start fighting each-" Krugis then picked up Mill by the back of his collar and tossed him down the hallway in a similar manner to Silo. Upon his crash landing Mill staggered up. "Rip out his vocal cords!" mill yelled before collapsing on the ground.

Just as Fleck, Vic, and Misha closed in around Krugis, Celeste and Flonne moved in and stopped them. "H-hey! Come one everyone! He's just trying to help! Right, Krugis?" Celeste asked.

"Hmmm…." Krugis stood there thinking.

"Krugis!"

"Yeah, Yeah, I'm here to help!…I guess…"

"Can any of you think of a better way to get across?" Celeste asked.

Fleck stepped up. "We could freeze them into a block of ice and just walk across."

"Does anyone here know ice magic?" Flonne asked. Everyone looked at Krugis.

"Don't look at me!"

"Why not? You did all that ice pillar crap when we last fought!" Lyra said.

"I was using a terrain altering spell, I can only use minor ice magic."

"Then what about mill?" Misha asked.

"I can only use healing and star magic!" Mill yelled.

"anyone else?" Celeste asked. Everyone stayed quiet. "All right then." Celeste gave the word for Krugis to continue.

"Everybody get into two lines!" He yelled.

"I can't believe you're supporting this…" Fleck muttered as he and the others formed up.

"Sorry…" Celeste said.

"Why two?" Neige asked.

"Isn't it obvious? So the prince can practice also." Krugis said, gesturing over to Laharl who was cracking his knuckles.

"Suck up…" Fleck muttered.

"So prince…" Krugis asked as Laharl began tossing people. "do you have any idea who it is that rules this castle?"

"I think I have a hunch…" Laharl said with a confident smile.

"So -San…Since I'm dealing with another one of these 'scrapped Main character concepts' like you, do I have to be aware of anything?" Fleck asked.

"Well, all I know about the one we're facing is that she is extremely proficient in the forms of Ice magic. She's also a bit of a sadist. She appears to be your typical stuck up evil chick at first glance, but once you get to know her…it goes downhill from there." -San said, his voice getting more and more depressed as he went on.

"You uh…you sound like you've experienced this first hand." Fleck said.

"What did you do? Sleep with her, dood?" Vic asked.

-San froze up instantly, his eyes wide with terror. He began mumbling to himself.

"I think that last one hit a little too close to home." Fleck said to vic. "-San? It'll be okay…I think…" Fleck patted -San's shoulder. "wait…are you crying?" Fleck saw that -San was shaking slightly. Ooookay… Now I'm _really_ worried…"

"Hey, hurry it up! We don't have all day!" Laharl ordered.

"R-right!" Fleck said, hoping he wouldn't hit the ceiling before he landed. ( he also hoped he didn't jinx himself)

"I can't believe they were that stupid…" Alice said, pouting. What kind of mercenary gang gets themselves crammed so tightly into the hallway that they can't even move. You have to actually try to be that bad."

"Ma'am" a warrior came up from behind and knelt down. "The enemy will be arriving any minute now."

Yeah, yeah…geez." Alice stretched and walked towards the main room where her employer was waiting.

As the group moved through the remainder of the large hallway something caught Etna's eye. It was a large painting of the late King Krichevskoy with a plethora of roses in the background. "Prince, Look!" Etna said.

"It's a painting of my old man…" Laharl said upon seeing the picture.

"So this is what the King looked like." Flonne commented.

"Prince…could I have it?" Etna asked.

"Sure. Make's no difference to me." Laharl said.

"Hey…how did the king die anyway." Krugis asked.

"He choked on a black pretzel…It's ironic that one of his favorite snack foods is what brought his end." Silo said.

"Don't make it sound cooler than it actually is." Misha said.

"Wait…the overlord, the most powerful demon in the netherworld, died by choking on a mid morning snack?" Krugis said, astonished.

"Yeah, man. And as a result, the company that made them went bankrupt because everyone suddenly declared them a health hazard." Mill said, stuffing his face with a hand full of black pretzels.

"Mill, _you're_ eating them." Silo said.

"What? Just because they're bankrupt doesn't make them illegal. I don't care what you say, this stuff is _good_." Mill said, taking in another handful. Suddenly, he began to cough and sputter. He clutched his throat as if something was inside it, blocking any air from entering his lungs. "Hnnn….Heghk!" Mill fell to his knees, pounding on his chest in a vain attempt to spit out the black pretzel.

"Anyway, our target shouldn't be too far ahead." Laharl said. "Let's hurry and go home! My favorite show will be on in a few hours and I don't know if I set the VCR to record or not." Laharl ordered and gestured for everyone to move forward.

"Haghk…you still use….a …VCR…heh heh haghk!…Lame…" Mill forced out that last insult and then fell on his back. As everyone began to follow Laharl, Fleck briefly passed over Mill and brought his foot down hard on his stomach, hard enough to force the black pretzel out of mill's throat. "Gha! Oh…" Mill coughed and spat as he took deep breathes. "Oh god…I though I was a goner…"

"One…Two…Three…" A very unpleasant voice echoed through the large chamber. A large, overly muscular and bipedal pig was counting a large pile of gold coins. "Oh money, how I love thee. With you to fund my military campaign there will be no one standing between me and the throne…" The pig man snorted in laughter.

"Ugh…how can someone with such an extravagant home behave like such a…" Alice turned away from her employer to hid her disgust.

"Such a what, ma'am?" one of her soldiers asked.

"Well…a pig." Alice replied. Without warning, the large double-doors suddenly burst open and a sizeable group walked in with a young boy at the lead. "So they've finally arrived.

As the pig man, who's name was now revealed to be hoggmeiser, the late king's ex-butler, and Laharl exchanged pleasantries, Fleck was eyeing Alice from across the room. "She doesn't seem that tough." Fleck examined the area around him. He, along with everyone else, were at the bottom of a medium length staircase that led to the actual main area of the room. He could spot several couches and chairs with various animal pelts laid across them. Aside from that, several archers and warriors were spread out in various positions. "Let's get this over with." Fleck said, drawing his sword. Everyone else followed suit.

Before long, the battle commenced. Laharl, Etna, and Flonne charged at Hoggmeiser while the underlings were left to each other. Fleck, Vic, and -San lead the charge as several members of the group broke off to engage in their own fight. For some reason, the enemy forces consisted almost entirely of male brawlers with Alice and Hoggmeiser being the only ones to break that trend. Before long, only Fleck, Vic, and -San were the only ones not engaged in a direct fight.

"Well…" Fleck tripped an enemy soldier who attempted to run past him. "..we got dispersed pretty quickly…" As the trio neared Alice, a small grin appeared on her face. She twirled her staff and slammed it into the floor. Several ice spikes materialized above her and pointed themselves at Fleck. "Oh…" The ice spikes immediately shot forward, causing cracks and holes to appear in the floor where they hit. "Serpentine! Serpentine!" Fleck said, running in a zig zag pattern across the room.

"This is what she does! She isolates her target and then spams her most powerful attacks! It's _really_ annoying!" -San said.

"Well…two can play at that game!" Fleck's eyes darted around until he found Vic running around in a circle. For some reason, most of the ice attacks were being focused on Vic.

"I know I should probably focus on Fleck but…using this thing as target practice is just so addicting…It's like pac-man…" Alice said as she watched Vic yell and run.

Vic eventually saw Fleck running towards him and hope blossomed inside. _"Fleck…you actually came…You really are my best fri-_" Vic soon realized that Fleck had no intention of stopping and realized what he was going to do. "No. No. No." Vic started running away from fleck and towards alice. "No. NO, Oh crap, oh God!" Fleck caught up to Vic and kicked him like a soccer ball towards alice. "I hate all of youuuuuuu, Dooooooood!"

Alice simply pointed her staff at the rapidly approaching prinny and froze him into a block of ice. Vic fell to the ground and slid to the back of the room.

"well, back to plan A. Hyaaaaah!" Fleck began running in a zig zag pattern again trying to avoid the renewed surge of ice spikes coming at him. "There's got to be a way around this…" Fleck muttered as he ran. He began to suspect that Alice had stopped aiming entirely and just fired in any direction she hasn't yet. "Maybe… oh wait…" Fleck saw that -San had been cornered behind an unusually tall ice spike and was using it as cover. "Damn it… the only way out of this is if something really convenient like if some ultimate power was awakened from within…" As soon as the thought entered Fleck's mind a huge explosion of light erupted from behind Alice. "…ME I was gonna say ME. I wanted the ultimate power to awaken within ME!" Fleck yelled in anguish.

"What the hell?" Alice stopped casting ice spells and whipped around to see what was happening. She saw the frozen block that was vic explode into a million shards. Vic was standing upright, a piercing glare in his eyes. "What's going on…" Alice said, worry in her voice.

"You…" Vic said in an uncharacteristically dark tone. "…I have suffered enough of this humiliation…" A black silhouette appeared behind vic. The exact details couldn't be made out but it was vaguely human shaped. The way it was shaped suggested it was wearing samurai armor and had it's hair in a ponytail. It also had two glowing red eyes. "Taste my blade!" Vic's voice was no longer the wimpy prinny version but a very deep and commanding one (imagine the voice of Crispin Freeman or Travis Willingham). Vic drew his prinny daggers while the shadow behind him pulled out two Katanas. Vic swung forward, sending a black wave out towards Alice.

"Craaaaaaap!" Alice yelled as she brought her staff up to block. The attack hit her with great force. She gritted her teeth and stood her ground…for only a moment. She started to slide back a few inches and then was fully blown backwards through the air, slamming against the side of one of her own ice spikes, slumping down on the ground.

Fleck and -San, who were the only ones who witnessed the event, apparently, stared in awe. Fleck looked at Vic and watched the shadow disappear and Vic fall on his face, unconscious. "H-hol-l-ly shit…"

As Fleck stepped out of his hiding spot, he saw Alice get back up, using her staff as a crutch. "You little…" She started up.

"Crap!" Fleck readied his sword but it was too late. Alice had charged up her spell and was about to release it. What Fleck didn't notice though, was that Vic's last attack had cracked Alice's staff, making her magic unstable at best. Alice fired her ice spell, but it back fired. The Ice ball appeared in front of her but it grew to a massive size and exploded. It sent Fleck and -San reeling back as the resulting blizzard engulfed the half of the room they had been fighting in.

Hoggmeiser was at Laharl's feet, thanking him for sparing him and swearing full loyalty. Laharl, on the other hand, was trying to shake him off. Flonned noticed a cool breeze and looked in it's direction. "Hey!" She called out to Silo and the others. "Could you guys go check out the rest of the room, please!" Flonne asked.

"Right!" Silo motioned for the others to follow. Before long, they found the portion of the room that Fleck and the rest were fighting in. "My…God…" Silo said, examining the area.

"How did we miss this?" Misha asked.

"Fleck! Fleeeck!" Celeste called out frantically. She heard a crumbling noise and turned to see what it was. She saw Fleck hanging on the -San as support.

"Sup…" he said in a sleepy tone. Celeste ran over to him and hugged him. "Owowowow! Easy!" He saw the others approaching and grinned.

"I'll ask about this later…We should focus on getting out of here as soon as possible." Silo said.

"Why, is this place coming down or something?" -San inquired.

"No, it's just that I can't stand it here… by the way, Hoggmeiser is joining up with us." Silo explained.

"What? Why?" Fleck said perplexed.

"That new angel chick we picked up said something to the prince that changed his mind about offing the guy…It's strange…she has this weird aura about her that seems to make everything seem obnoxiously bright and friendly." Silo stated.

"Well, let's get vic first. He's over there somewhere." Fleck said. Everyone fanned out to search for Vic amongst the rubble.

Eventually, Neige found Alice standing amidst the pile, except…Alice had been completely turned to ice. Not frozen, she was 100% frozen water. "Whoah…cool pose!" Alice was still in her spell readying position. "This would look great in the courtyard."

Fleck, -San, and Celeste had found vic among several chunks of Ice. "What happened to him?" Celeste asked.

"I honestly couldn't tell you…I'm still sorting it out myself." Fleck poked vic with his foot. The prinny twitched a little and muttered something about being unstoppable. "He's okay…" Fleck picked Vic up and carried him under his arm. "Let's go!" The group made their way back to Laharl who was getting impatient. After yelling at them for a few seconds they retreated for home, leaving a horrendously destroyed castle in the process.

**The next Day**

The new ice statue stood on top of a pedestal in the center of a newly installed fountain in the training grounds. Several ducks swam in it. Fleck and his squad were gathered in the corner again, this time using an actual table instead of Vic's body. Once again, snakes and ladders was the game of the day. "Come on…" Fleck let his dice fly and landed a seven. "Shoot…" Fleck moved his piece onto the snake and was pushed back three rows.

"No cheating this time?" Mill taunted. Fleck held his fingers up like he was going to snap them which caused the healer to flinch.

"I'm controlling myself this one time so don't push it." Fleck said and picked up the dice. "Vic, it's your turn!" Fleck said. "Vic!" Fleck heard no response. "God damn it not again!" Fleck turned to see Vic dancing around, his paycheck in his hands.

"I can't tell which one I liked better, broke vic or pay check vic." Silo commented.

"_I know which one_ I_ don't want."_ Fleck thought in his head, remembering the black shadow. "Was Vic being serious this whole time?" Fleck wondered out loud.

**Next episode preview**

FLECK: Such a tragedy! After years of fighting side by side. The dark lord that Fleck and his companions had been searching for was actually…vic himself

VIC: when did this happen, dood?

FLECK: Though his heart is racked with grief, Fleck must carry out his duty and defeat the source of the worlds malice, even if it was a valued comrade.

VIC: but.. I'm not the source of anything, dood….

MISHA: Forget it, we've lost him…again…

FLECK: fight on, brave warriors, bring back the light to the netherworld!

MILL: the netherworld had light?

FLECK: next time on DISGAEA: Rhapsody of the soul! Episode 4: The lights in the sky are stars!

VIC: Hey! You stole that from that one show!

FLECK: shut it….

Hello again, everyone! Sorry it took so long! I've just been swamped by so much work. You'd be surprised how much typing you need to do in high school… anyway, here's some trivia on the chapter, whether or not you read it is of no concern to me.

**Alice:** a self centered narcissist, Alice is always going for the spotlight. She was thought up when the author considered a magical girl parody but ultimately scrapped the idea due to having to much self respect. I intended for her to be a recurring character but I just couldn't figure out how to use her well.

**Dark vic:** Vic's original form (?) has finally been made manifest. This will definitely come back later.


	5. Chapter 5

And we enter into chapter five! Merry Christmas to you all!

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

**Chapter 5: Gift that keeps on giving**

**Castle hallway**

_"So…Flonne managed to avoid the grasp of the demons… Hmph, She probably used her feminine charms. I hadn't expected King Krichevskoy to have already passed. What have those idiots in the intelligence department been doing! That aside, I wonder…why hasn't flonne returned to celestia?"_ Archangel Vulcanus walked cautiously through the dark halls of Laharl's castle. "_more importantly, why hasn't Krugis reported in?" _Vulcanus stopped in his tracks, coming to a startling realization. _"What if…What if Flonne has allied herself with the demons! That has to be it! She plans to take control of celestia! But what about Krugis? I sent him here to keep this exact thing from happening. Perhaps Flonne used her demons to silence him…" _As Vulcanus began to work out his gross miscalculation in his head he sees a book lazily tossed aside. "Hmph, don't demons know to put things away once you're through with them!" Vulcanus picked up the book and, out of a fleeting moment of curiosity, flipped through the pages. "What in the world. This page, this page as well…All of these pages!"

**Elsewhere**

Fleck sat up in his bed, his pointed ears twitching. His eyes darted around the dark room. "Someone's touched my porn…" He looked over and saw Vic sleeping on a futon. Fleck nudged him with his foot until he woke up.

"Mmm…What, dood?" Vic said, rubbing his eyes.

"wake up! Someone found my stash!" Fleck said.

"you mean that one magazine you lost yesterday? If you didn't know where it was then, what makes you think you know now, dood?"

"I just know! Come on!" Fleck said.

"Just take my fanny pack, dood. I need my sleep too!" Vic said and went back to sleep. Fleck looked around and saw vic's pack and grabbed it.

**Back with Vulcanus**

Vulcanus tossed away the magazine and continued on in a huff. "I mustn't fall for the demon's trap, I'm an archangel for crying out loud!" Vulcanus wandered further through the castle peeking into every other door until he heard a faint breathing noise. It was one among thousands of others, but it was much softer. "Flonne…I think I've found you." Vulcanus. He reached down towards her chest and yanked a small glittering gem from it. "This should settle things quite nicely."

"Master Vulcanus?" Krugis said from behind. He had heard a noise and went to investigate.

"Krugis! You're alive! I knew there was no way the demons could slay my own apprentice that easily!" Vulcanus exclaimed.

"You thought I was dead? That would explain the lack of contact." Before Krugis could say any more, Vulcanus dragged him out of the room and into another hallway.

"listen, Krugis. I know about everything. We have to stop flonne's sinister plan in it's tracks!" Vulcanus started.

"Plan? What are you…"

"If Celestia is going to survive, we have to mobilize the entire military! We have to crush this wretched world once and for all!"

"Sir, you're not listening! I think you're giving flonne too much-"

"I've already taken her amulet. She shouldn't be able to survive here much longer without it."

"You did what! Why would you…"

"I'm going to destroy this pendant so that she can never re obtain it. I need you here to spy on her and make sure the job is done. Just stay hidden like you have until now."

"Okay…1: I haven't remained hidden, flonne is just naïve. 2: if you were going to kill her anyway, why not just do it outright and save me the trouble. And 3: why do you never-"

"Goodbye, Krugis, I'm sure you can get the job done!" Vulcanus disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Krugis with a strong headache.

"Why…just why…" Krugis ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "well…maybe if I do this, I can finally go back home." Krugis turned around and walked away.

**With Fleck**

Fleck waved his flashlight around the dark hallway, leaving no corner unchecked. "I swear it was…aha!" Fleck identified his target via it's pink cover and rushed towards it. He picked up the magazine and tucked it into his shirt. As he turned to leave, he heard someone walking towards his section of the hall.

Krugis walked down the dark hallway deep in thought. "This is ridiculous…He's giving Flonne WAY to much credit." Krugis wondered if he should report the stolen amulet or not. Considering the people he worked for, one stolen item, no matter how important it was, would be pretty low on their priorities list unless it was theirs in the first place. "What should I do?" On one hand, Flonne would die if he didn't act fast. On the other, he owed a lot to Vulcanus. A LOT. He had practically been a second father to him…sort of… Most of his parenting and life lessons were about Celestial history and combat training. "I'll sleep on it." Was the decision he eventually came to.

Fleck watched intently from his hiding spot in the ceiling (the VERY HIGH ceiling). "What the hell is he talking about? I can't hear a thing…" Fleck watched as Krugis shrugged his shoulders and walked onward. "Whatever…I got what I came for." Fleck crawled, spider-man style, towards his room.

**The next day, Castle Courtyard**

"Shouldn't that thing have melted by now?" Mill asked Silo as the two of them looked at the ice statue of Alice. "I mean it _is_ just regular ice, right?"

"Hm…not really, check out the water closest to it." Silo pointed towards the base of the statue. The fountain water that was within a ten meter radius around it was almost completely frozen. "If it's that cold, it won't be melting anytime soon." Silo and Mill stood there in an awkward silence.

"Heh heh…" Mill chuckled.

"What?" Silo asked.

"I just remembered that time we first met. Remember, at the frozen river?" Mill said in a nostalgic tone.

"Oh God, please don't remind me…" Silo said, sweat trickling down his neck as he remembered the horrible event.

"Oh come on, the zombies weren't _that_ tough, were they?" Mill said.

"Hey…About what fleck told us when he fought this chick…do you think there are more like her?" Silo asked, suddenly serious.

Mill shrugged his shoulders. "No way to be sure. Considering our luck, though, the answer is probably yes." Mill scratched the back of his head. "What I'm more concerned about right now is that incident with Vic. Who knew the little guy held so much power?"

"When you become a prinny, you only have a very small fraction of your original power with you. Like 5 percent of it or something…" Silo suddenly came to a realization. "Do you think Vic was an overlord in his past life?" Silo had a panicked look on his face. "If he is and he gets his original form back…We're…we're…"

Mill slapped Silo before he could dissolve into another panic attack. "Don't jump to conclusions! Besides, we haven't really treated vic _that_ badly right?…Right?" Mill and Silo reminisced and saw that, while they haven't done anything completely horrendous (by netherworld standards), they haven't exactly been bosses of the year. "You're right, we're totally screwed."

Krugis stared, dead eyed, across the castle training grounds. He was contemplating the meaning of his life. He thought about who he was working for and why he was doing it. He contemplated the moral values of following Vulcanus's orders to kill Flonne and following his duty as an angel to retrieve the stolen- why are celeste and Fleck being so friendly with each other? Krugis saw Fleck and Celeste chatting about something a few feet away. For some reason, this attracted his attention more than anything else. Seeing Fleck get so cozy with his half sister was _infuriating him_ somehow. _'I don't even like her…so why?"_ He need to ask someone about this. Just as that thought entered his head, he saw Lira walking by. Krugis reached towards Lira, his arm stretching like in Saturday morning cartoons, and pulled her over next to him.

"Did you just…" Before lira could inquire as to what the hell just happened, Krugis began to speak.

"Explain this." he said.

"Explain what?"

"This" Krugis pointed to Fleck and Celeste.

"Ooooh. That's just Fleck and Celeste. They've been hanging out a lot lately. I guess fleck has been having a little more success with her as of late." Lira gave a sly grin.

"What do you mean by "success"?"

"Fleck's had the hots for her since she first showed up. I thought he would end up as the timid type but he's actually been really aggressive. In a subtle kind of way." Lira noticed that Krugis was grinding his teeth. "Oh, I get it. You're jealous." Lira teased.

"Wha?"

"Yup. It's been scientifically proven that whenever a young girl is going out someone, the father and brother descend into a homicidal rage against the suitor." Lira pointed out. "It's just the natural law of things."

"That's a load of crap. Besides, I hate Celeste."

"Maybe you do…or maybe you're just so frustrated by the fact that she looks so content with her life despite being banished to the netherworld and you're still unsatisfied with your life despite being hailed as a child prodigy." Lira waited as Krugis took this in. Before he could respond, a loud ringing was heard throughout the courtyard. "Sounds like missions time. Think about our little chat, okay?" Lira said, giving a playful wink as she walked towards her squad. Krugis watched her leave and stood up to do the same.

**Dimensional gate**

"So…What do we have?" Fleck asked Silo when he and Vic entered the main room.

"From what I can gather, someone stole a special pendant from Ms. Flonne." Silo explained.

"That's it? We're all clustered here because someone took Flonne's pendant?" Fleck exclaimed.

"Pretty much." Misha replied in a bored tone.

"Why! I thought angels were supposed to not care about material possessions."

"Well, apparently Flonne needs this pendant to stay alive in the demon world or she'll die simply due to exposure to pure malice." Mill said.

"Oh…well I still don't see why the prince would help, let alone call everyone together."

"She apparently promised a huge reward to anyone who found it." Silo said as he sharpened his axe.

"What, like…cash?" Fleck asked.

"Maybe."

"Alright! We're moving out you bastards!" Laharl yelled. Immediately, the army of demons moved en masse through the portal.

"You'll need this." Mill said, handing Fleck a cold wet dish rag.

"What? Why the hell would I need thi-"

**Blazing Core**

Fleck stood next to Vic, Silo, Mill and Misha, the wet dishrag wrapped tightly around his face. "Why…WHY THE HELL ARE WE HERE!"

"Dude, seriously? I just went over this, like, five minutes ago." Silo said.

"Oh shut up! Nobody asked you!" Fleck ran up to a random scout who was scanning the area with his binoculars. "Hey! You!"

The scout turned around and faced fleck. "Yeah, what?"

"Are you sure the thief came through here? I mean REALLY sure?"

"Definitely. Someone saw some old guy with wings enter in the coordinates for this place and came through."

"Why didn't anyone stop him?"

"Would you?"

"…good point." Fleck turned away from the scout and went back to his group. "So I guess we're stuck here until we find this pendant, huh?" Fleck said. "Whatever…Where should we start searching?"

"I found a clue, dood!" Vic said jumping up and down.

"Already? Let me see that." Fleck walked over and snatched it from Vic's hand. "A feather?"

"Give it here!" Laharl snatched it from Fleck and brought it closer to his face. "This is an angel feather…"

"Not just any angel feather. The aura this one gives off is much more intense and refined than flonne's. Whoever dropped this must be incredibly powerful." Celeste said as she stepped out of the crowd.

"How do you know so much?" Flonne asked.

"My mother is an angel. She taught me a thing or two about this kind of thing." Celeste said with a modest smile on her face.

"An angel, huh…Hey! Where's krugis!" Fleck yelled.

"Right here." Krugis flapped his wings as he landed next to Fleck. "I just flew up about a hundred yards. Nothing but lava and scorched trees in every direction." Krugis saw that Fleck was glaring at him. "What?"

"Do _you_ have anything to do with flonne's pendant?" Fleck said, pointing an accusing finger at Krugis's nose."

"Back off, buddy. Why would I want to steal Flonne's pendant?" Krugis slapped Fleck's hand away. "If there's anyone here to be suspicious of, it's you. You are a thief, right?" Realizing this, everyone stared at fleck.

"H-hold on a minute guys…you know it's not me…right?" Fleck said, nervously. Everyone slowly surrounded him.

**Elsewhere**

"I didn't think getting out of there would be this easy." Vulcanus laughed to himself, tightly clutching flonne's pendant. "If she hadn't been so ambitious, flonne would have lived a very long life…" Vulcanus stepped over to a cliff edge. "No one can stop me now!" After that last sentence, the pendant in Vulcanus hands began to glow. "What? The pendant is…Gyah! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Vulcanus flailed his arm around wildly before moving closer to the edge of a hill. "I have no use for this anymore!" Vulcanus threw the pendant over the hill and flew away.

"Ow!" Mid-boss clutched his head in pain. "ooooh, that hurt." Mid-boss looked around to see who or what hit him and found the pendant at his feet. "Oho! What a beautiful necklace!"

**Back with the group**

Laharl, with his army behind him, advanced through the burning wasteland, slaying any demons or bandits who dared to challenge them. "Okay! We'll rest here for a few minutes. Take five!" Laharl yelled. Everyone gave off a sigh of relief and began to spread out into small groups. Some went further ahead to scout the area while others picked a rock or a tree to sit under to talk or sleep.

Misha wiped off the sweat on her forehead and sat down next to Silo and mill. She saw a water bottle in front of her face. "thank you."

"Dear God in heaven, it's hot. Why did the thief pick here of all places?" Mill complained.

"It could be worse." Silo said.

"How?"

"You could be bursting into flames due to the intense heat form the lava pools below us."

"please…if that was going to happen it would've done so by now." As soon as mill said that, his hair burst into flame. He then proceeded to scream and flail around wildly around the camp.

"Where's fleck?" Misha asked.

"Over there with Celeste's squad." Silo gestured towards the base of a dead tree near the lava flow. Fleck and Vic were sitting next to Celeste, Neige, Lyra, and –San.

"Hey, Silo…do you think we made the right choice by joining with the prince?"

"What do you mean? By serving him, we're serving the great King Kriche-"

"No, I understand that but…What I mean is how long do you think this will last? Every demon in the netherworld will be gunning for Laharl's head before long. Do you think we'll make it through something like that?" Misha asked, drawing her legs closer in.

"Of course we will!" Silo said in a cheerful voice. "no matter what happens, I'll think of something to get us out of it." Silo proclaimed.

"Hey! What kind of reward do you think I'll get, dood?" Vic said, jumping up and down like a little kid.

"what do you mean by reward?" Fleck asked.

"For finding the pendant." Vic responded.

"What the…all you did was find a feather."

"Right! A feather that will lead us straight to the pendant, dood! I indirectly found the pendant for us!" Vic explained.

"Uh…sure…whatever you say, buddy." Fleck turned over to celeste. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright. I've endured worse things than a little heat." Celeste said, a bead of sweat trailing down her cheek. "Sorry we tore into you back there. We had to make sure…you know what I mean, right?" Celeste asked, apologetically.

"No worries! I mean, it's not like _you_ were the one instigating." Fleck then turned and glared at Krugis who was sitting alone several feet away. Krugis noticed him and promptly flipped him off. Fleck did the same and turned back to face the others. "So….what do we do from-" before fleck could finish, Mill's screams interrupted him. "What the hell?"

"Put it out! Put it out! Please!" Mill yelled.

"What do you want _me_ to do! I can't use magic!" Fleck said.

"Celeste?" mill turned to the blue haired healer in desperation.

"Sorry. I can help you heal the burns but I don't know any ice spells."

"Come on! I can't pull off a bald look! That only works if you're a body builder!" As mill continued to dance around, an uncharacteristically cold wind blew past him. This not only put out the fire, but froze his head. Unable to support the added weight of the ice block surrounding his cranium, mill fell on his back, struggling to get up.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Fleck got up and drew his sword, scanning the area.

"Relax." Neige said. "I think it's our squad's new prinny. Apparently she knows a few ice spells from when she was still alive." Neige gestured over to the aforementioned prinny.

Unlike the others, this prinny had a darker ocean blue coating rather than the usual grey blue the other prinnies had. She also had a more focused look in her eyes. "Long time, no see, dood." Said the prinny with an uncomfortably familiar voice.

"That voice…" –San said with a quivering voice. "Alice!"

Fleck and Vic immediately jumped back. "Alice? You mean the crazy chick that almost killed us last chapter?" Fleck readied his sword again. "Y-you still want a piece of me, huh? Well bring it!"

"Relax, kid. I'm not here to fight you, dood. I took this job so I could raise enough money to earn my old body back." Alice said.

"Yeah, but you're still planning to kill me!" Fleck yelled accusingly.

"maybe…but now it's more for revenge than taking your role, dood."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Not really, dood."

"Hey! Enough slacking off!" Laharl yelled. Everyone, with more than a few grumbles of discontent, got up and started on the trail again.

After several hours of walking, fighting, and searching, Celeste walked up to her brother after dispatching yet another group of bandits. "Krugis?"

"What?" Krugis said as he yanked out his sword from a fallen demon.

"I've been meaning to ask you this for a while and…um…who is the current seraph? Is it still Seraph Bolverk?" Celeste asked.

"…No. He died centuries ago. The current Seraph is Seraph Lamington."

"What is he like?"

"I think he's soft. He's not fit to be a leader." Krugis stated.

"Why do you say that?" Celeste asked.

"He's always goofing off somewhere. He'd rather tend to his garden or go bird watching rather than increase Celestia's power. He's weak and he's dragging celestia down with him." Krugis suddenly became very agitated.

"I-I'm sorry if I brought up something I shouldn't have." Celeste said, taking a step back.

"Just…I'm not the guy you want to talk to about this. Talk to flonne if you really want to know about him." Krugis said, regaining his composure.

"Why's that?"

"You kidding me? She's his biggest fan."

"God damn it! We must've explored every inch of this place by now!" Fleck yelled in frustration. "How are we supposed to find one pendant in this place, it's impossible. It could've fallen into one of the lava pits for all we know."

"Oh what a beautiful pendant I've found. It must certainly be a gift from the heavens. A reward for my good behavior." A very pompous and annoyingly elegant voice reached Flecks, as well as everyone else's, ears.

"Who said that?" Fleck said in a chilling tone. His eyes burned with the flames of determination.

The whole group turned around while Laharl, Etna, and Flonne raced to the front of the group. They soon found Mid-boss standing on top of a large hill, admiring a flimmering red pendant.

"Hey, my pendant!" Flonne exclaimed in surprise.

"Hm? You recognize this pendant?" Mid-boss seemed interested.

"Please, Mr. Mid-boss, May I have that pendant? It's mine." Flonne pleaded. "I need it, I beg of you!"

"I…I cannot do that. Even at the request of someone so lovely." Mid- boss held the pendant back from flonne's grasp. "I found this pendant so it belongs to moi."

"He's as low as the prince…" Etna stated.

"Don't put me on the same level as him!"

"That pendant punishes those with wicked intentions." Krugis stepped in and gave his warning with a rather sinister tone. "If you don't release it soon…well…just watch." After a good ten minutes of waiting, nothing happened.

"Uh…Krugis? Shouldn't he be bursting into flames at this point or something?" silo asked.

"Um…Give it a minute." Krugis said, embarrassed.

"Man…he gave that ominous warning and everything, I'm kind of disappointed." Lyra said.

"Sh-shut up!" Krugis yelled defensively.

"Hahahahahaha! The heavens would not dare to punish a heart as pure as mine. And to match that pure heart, I was given the name 'Dark Adonis'." Mid-boss declared.

"Shut up. I already told you, you're Mid-Boss." Laharl stated.

"Hmhmhm. Well then, I'll just show you that I am no ordinary Mid-boss."

"Hey, you admitted it!" Etna said.

"Urk! Shut up. I'll crush you so that I never hear the word Mid-boss again!" Mid-boss pointed his finger in the air and began to glow. "since our last encounter, I've mastered an incredible new technique. Now prepare to die!" Several more demons appeared around mid-boss and readied weapons and spells of every sort.

"Just when I thought we wouldn't have to fight." Silo readied his axe.

"You should know that that kind of thing never happens to us." Misha drew her blade.

"Mf shma gha dkl sohsmi." Mill said. The Ice block encasing his head was half melted.

The two armies charged at one another, the entire area exploded into a giant mass of spells, gun smoke and swords.

"I need to get that pendant." Krugis glided along the chaotic battlefield, dodging attacks from friend and foe alike, in an attempt to get to Mid-boss who was currently engaging the prince.

"Not a chance, dood!" Vic landed on Krugis's head and leaped into the air, also making a grab for Mid-boss.

Krugis momentarily lost his balance and attempted to stabilize his flight pattern. "Damn pri-" Krugis was interrupted by Fleck's boot planting itself on his face.

"That reward is mine!" Fleck leaped up after Vic as Krugis clutched his nose in pain.

"What the fu-" Krugis was interrupted again by Silo, Mill, and Misha who also used his as a stepping stone.

"Help the prince! Hurry!" Silo yelled

"Sorry Krugis." Misha said.

"mpha." Mill muffled.

Krugis plummeted helplessly towards the ground below. "why…?" Krugis landed with a very painful thud next to Celeste.

"Oh!" Celeste held out her hand and a ring of green light surrounded Krugis, flashed, and dissipated. "Are you alright?"

Krugis sat up and cracked his neck. "Disgraceful…"

"Krugis? Maybe you should take a break." Celeste suggested.

Krugis glared at her and spread his wings. With a huff, he soared into the air and darted towards Mid-Boss. Celeste coughed as the dust from his take off flew into her face.

"Real charming, isn't he?" Neige said, sarcastically, as she shot an arrow into the chest of a nearby enemy.

"He may be a tougher nut to crack than I thought." Lyra commented as she watched Krugis increase his speed.

As Mid-boss fought Laharl and Fleck's squad, he managed to keep the pendant just out of their reach. He held it back with his left hand while he used the rest of his body to keep the others at bay. Misha and Laharl relentlessly slashed at him with their blades while Mill fired spell after spell at his back. Mid-boss grabbed Misha's wrist and swung her into laharl, knocking him into the wall of a cliff. He then tossed misha into the air and kicked her like a soccer ball towards Mill, the two of them slamming straight through a dead tree and landing at the base of a small hill. (_author's note: lol, that rhymed)_.

"Damn…" Fleck, Vic, and Silo surrounded Mid-boss, their weapons at the ready. Fleck looked at his two squad mates and nodded. Vic and Silo nodded back and rushed towards Mid-boss.

"Colossal Fissure!" Silo leaped into the air and slammed his axe down on Mid-boss's head.

"prinny barrage!" Vic threw his daggers at an incredibly fast rate. They arced in the air, boomerang style, back towards vic who continued to throw them again and again. Fleck grinned as Vic's attack threw up a huge dust cloud around mid-boss. Fleck darted in as Silo was knocked out.

"HA hahahahha. You fools cannot even compare to my…wait." Mid-boss noticed, once the dust settled, that the pendant was no longer in his grasp. He turned around and saw Fleck with a mischievous grin on his face. "You little-" Before he could finish, an explosion engulfed him as Vic slammed a huge bomb on his head.

"Hell yeah! Who wins? I win!" Fleck held up the pendant to express his victory only to have is snatched by Krugis. "What? Krugis, no fair! _I_ was the one who stole it!"

"Sorry, kid. I need this for reasons you don't under…" Krugis turned away from fleck only to find Vic inches away from his face. "…stand." Vic clamped onto Krugis face and began to hit him repeatedly. "Hey! What the…get off me!" Krugis flailed around in the air, trying to pull Vic off. "If you don't stop we'll…"

"That reward is mine, dood!" Vic said, blinded by greed and frustration.

"Get off!" Krugis darted around in random directions but couldn't see where he was going. He eventually plummeted straight into the ground, the impact causing Vic to explode.

The vibrations woke up Laharl who was just in time to see the pendant fly into the air and straight into a lava pit. "Irk!'

"The pendant!" Flonne ran towards the edge and watched her ticket to survival disappear below the boiling molten surface. "No…what am I going to do now?"

Krugis stood up and looked around. He saw vic, charred and burned next to his feet. He grabbed the little prinny by the throat and shook him. "You idiot! You almost killed me!" Krugis looked around again and turned back to vic. "Where's the pendant!" Fleck poked Krugis' shoulder and then, once he got his attention, pointed towards the lava pit. "Oh…I guess that's fine…" Krugis dropped Vic and fell flat on his back, immediately falling asleep.

Laharl ran past everyone else and jumped straight into the Lava pit. "Prince!" Everyone shouted, but it was too late. The Prince had jumped straight in and all anyone could do was wait and wait.

**2 hours later**

Celeste and several dozen other healers finished patching up the last of Laharl's army and returned back towards their respective squads. Celeste saw Fleck's squad, along with her own, sitting next to the edge of the river, waiting for Laharl. Around her, she could hear several others discussing the recent turn of events.

"Do you think he's alive?"

"Gotta be. The prince wouldn't let a little lava do him in."

"Where's that mid-boss guy?"

"I saw him being dragged away by one of his little henchmen. Best not to worry about it."

"How do we get back? The Prince was the only one who could contact the dimensional gate keeper."

"Can we go yet?"

"Who wants the last truffle?"

Celeste eventually met up with the others and took a seat between Fleck and –San. "How long has it been?" She asked.

"A good two hours. I swear, I think he's just messing with us." Fleck scratched the back of his head and yawned. "It's kind of relaxing, you know?" Fleck said.

"What do you mean?" Celeste had a quizzical look on her face.

"I haven't encountered a single person who wants my title as main (side) character. Did I beat all of them?"

"No…there are at least…three more." –San replied.

"Three more!" Fleck yelled.

"That I know of." –San finished.

Fleck sighed and fell onto his back. "That's just perfect."

Krugis stared at the ash clouded sky with a tired expression. "He's probably dead." He muttered to himself. He turned over and saw Fleck and Celeste talking with one another. _"Why…_" Krugis thought. _"Why do those two irritate me so much?"_ Just as he finished that thought, a water canteen was shoved in his face. "Huh?" Krugis grabbed the canteen and saw that it was Lyra who handed it to him. "Uh…thanks, I guess."

"I see you've gone back to just staring at them." Lyra said with a smile on her face.

"What business is it of yours?" Krugis asked, taking a sip of water.

"I just have a natural curiosity. Is that wrong?"

"I suppose not, but why are you taking a sudden interest in me? Are you doing this for Celeste?" Krugis asked. "If you are, you can just take off. If celeste wants to talk to me, she can do it herself."

"How do you expect her to do that if you keep brushing her off? All she wants is for you to open up. She wants to be closer to you." Lyra had a stern look on her face.

"Do you even know what happened between us?" Krugis had a pained look on his face.

"Celeste told me all about it, and from my perspective, it seems like it's your own fault for things ending up the way they did." Lyra crossed her arms.

"How dare you! A demon like you could never understand!" Krugis began to yell.

"Then make me understand! Let people in! What is are you so afraid of?" Lyra yelled back.

Krugis paused and looked at the ground. "Just…leave."

Lyra stared at him for a few seconds and shrugged. "Fine. But when you're ready to stop being such a child, you should have a talk with you know who." Lyra turned around and started to walk back towards her squad, but stopped.

"Why do you even care? What do you possibly have to gain by lecturing me like this?" Krugis asked.

"Celeste is my friend. I don't like seeing her upset." Lyra stated, plainly. "And for the record. I wasn't talking to you for celeste." Lyra turned away so that Krugis couldn't see her blush. "I did it for my own reasons." She darted off towards her friends.

"Your own reasons?" Krugis scratched his head in confusion. Just then, Laharl jumped out of the lava pool seemingly unscathed. In his hand was flonne's pendant. Everyone gathered around the prince to check if he was okay and find out what the reward from Flonne he would get.

Elsewhere, Vulcanus watched the events unfold with a furious look on his face. "It seems Krugis has failed me. I must return to celestia to devise a new plan. Consider yourselves lucky this time." Vulcanus stepped backward, further out of view. "However, I, Vulcanus, shall emerge victorious in the end!" With that, the archangel spread his wings and flew into the air."

**End**

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

FLECK: With the international battle of the bands concert right around the corner, Fleck struggles to bring his scattered band mates back together.

LYRA: I heard somewhere that if you force the music, it's always going to come out bland.

FLECK: To everyone's shock, the band's base player, Krugis, leaves and forms his own group: The dullahans.

KRUGIS: Why am I the bad guy! And what the heck is a Dullahan?

FLECK: Even with this betrayal Fleck refuses to give up! With no one left to turn to, Fleck decides to play both the drums and the base! He will succeed no matter what!

KRUGIS: That's physically impossible…right?

FLECK: Next time, on eternal Rock star Disgaea! Episode 6: The ultimate band! Fleck's furious base solo!

LYRA: furious…?

**Profile**

**Prinny Alice:** I finally figured out what to do with her! After her embarrassing defeat at the hands of Vic, Alice was reincarnated into a prinny. While her skills aren't what they used to be, she can still perform minor ice spells in a pinch. Despite being a prinny, -San is still a little scared of her.


	6. Chapter 6

Hello! And welcome back to another episode of **Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**! Here we see the return of someone from the past and the secrets of one of our central characters made clear. ENJOY. Please…

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

**Chapter 6: Silo's secret (even to himself)**

**Castle attic**

"Our first opening scene outside of the Castle Courtyard and it has to be in a place filled with things people want to forget." Fleck commented, dejectedly. "Why are we here again?" fleck said, using a crowbar to topple over a large pile of God knows what. Fleck and his squad were rummaging through various large piles of old antiques in the castle attic. Old pictures, vases, and furniture were abundant.

"We're here to finding some kind of Ancient relic." Mill said. "The prince suspects that his dad may have left some kind of key to ultimate power that can help him take the throne."

"In the attic…?" Fleck arched an eyebrow. "Those kinds of things are never in the attic, though."

"Which is why it's the perfect hiding spot." Mill blew the dust off an old book. "So says the prince, anyway (cough)."

"He plays to many RPG's" Fleck said, unaware of the irony of his statement. "How the hell are we supposed to tell which one of these has any kind of "ultimate power" anyway!" Fleck raised his arms in frustration. His left arm knocked out a piece from one of the large junk piles, causing it to fall on top of him, burying him alive. Fleck's muffled screams could be heard.

"Holy crap! Someone get the jaws of life!" Mill rushed over and proceeded to dig away at the fallen pile of stuff.

Silo watched the scene unfold from a few piles away. "What are those idiots doing?" Silo had an expression of absolute boredom on his face. "I have better things to do than to sift through century-old garbage!" Silo yelled in frustration.

"Wasn't it you who said 'the prince's word is absolute' when he gave the order?" Misha retorted.

"That was _before_ I realized how pointless this little excursion was." Silo said. "(sigh) why couldn't it have been King Krichevskoy I was serving under?"

"Hey guys, look! It's a scale model of my home town, dood!" Vic said, gesturing to the miniaturized version of Junktown that he made. Surprisingly (or not), the material he used to make it wasn't much different than what the town was actually made of (in case you forgot, or didn't read the name, its junk). Vic's triumph was short lived, however, as a giant wooden chest flew down and crushed it, shattering the mini-town along with Vic's confidence.

"sorry about that!" Misha said. "I lost my grip. What were you saying?"

"Oh…nothing, dood." Vic said, despondently.

"What's in the chest?" Silo asked.

"I was hoping _you_ would answer that. I tried prying it open, but my sword won't cut it. Pun not intended." Misha said.

"Allright! Let's crack this sucker open!" Silo lifted up his axe and cracked open the chest with one smooth strike. Most of what was inside the chest was dust and rock, but there was a small stack of papers that caught his attention. "What do we have here?" silo picked up the papers and saw that they were all bound together. He blew off the dust and read the title out loud. _"Disgaea: Almost the hour of Darkness, First Full draft_. Huh…wonder what this is about."

"Maybe those geeks in the drama committee could use it." Misha said. Just as they were about to look inside, the alarm sounded. "Duty calls." Misha commented as she turned towards the ladder that lead back down. Mill had just pulled out fleck and was carrying the aforementioned thief on his shoulder.

"Hm…" Silo took on more look at the front page and tossed the stack of papers to Vic. "Hold on to this for me, would you?" Vic took it and stuffed it in his fanny pack. The two then joined up with the rest of their squad.

**Dimensional gate**

Fleck (who was now on his feet) and the others found themselves at the outside edge of a huge crowd. The prince had literally called _everyone_ to arms. Even the shopkeepers were being paid extra to fight. Fleck looked around and Saw Celeste's squad getting ready. The two squads met up and started discussing the situation.

"So what's all this about? The prince looks even more fired up than usual." Fleck commented.

"Apparently some guy took a _really_ embarrassing photo of the prince and decided to call him out on it." Lyra said. "Now the prince wants the guys head on a silver platter and he's called in everyone to help him do it."

"That's classic." Fleck chuckled. "Do we have a name?"

"No, but with this many guys gunning for him, I don't think it'll matter for very long." Neige pointed out.

"I guess so…" Fleck suddenly had a sinking feeling in the pit of his gut.

"what's the matter?" Celeste asked.

Fleck face suddenly turned pale an looked as though he was about to puke. He covered his mouth with his hand and bent over slightly. Everyone stepped back to avoid getting puked on but it never happened. Fleck shut his eyes and swallowed whatever it was he was about to spray out. "Oh God…"

"Maybe you should sit this one out…" Celeste suggested, placing a reassuring hand on fleck's shoulder.

"No…I'm fine…"

"Forward!" Laharl yelled across the room. He, Etna, and Flonne were the first ones to go through and everyone else funneled in after them.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up." Fleck said, looking slightly better than earlier. All but Vic went ahead. Fleck gave him a concerned look.

"Dood…you only get like that when you-know-who is nearby." Vic said.

"I think our goose is cooked man." Fleck stood up and cracked his fingers. He walked towards the gate with Vic in tow. "I am so dead…"

**Jotunheim**

"Alright you gutless coward, do your worst!" Laharl was standing with his arms crossed, Etna and Flonne were on either side of him and an entire army of loyal(?) Soldiers stood with drawn weapons. The exact placement I'll leave up to your imaginations but it would b a pretty badass screenshot to make. And on the opposing side…not nearly as many demons stood to face them. There were a few dozen as opposed to the hundreds that Laharl brought in. "What is this! I was expecting a huge army but instead I get a few rag tag mercenaries?" A few of the demons walked up to Laharl. "What? You got something to say?"

After a slight pause, one of the demons spoke. "World peace."

"!" Laharl stepped back a bit as if he was shoved.

"A wonderful life."

"Gahh!" Laharl staggered back even more. The demons continued to speak various promotional and supportive catch phrases and Laharl reacted more horrified with each one until he was finally on his knees.

"What's up with the prince?" mill whispered to Silo. "He doesn't look much different than Fleck did a minute ago."

"You think there's an epidemic?" Misha suggested.

"That's not it." Silo said with a grave expression on his face. "I don't know how, but these lowlifes have discovered the prince's one true weakness." Silo clenched his fists. "And that is…Unending and enduring optimism!" At that moment, Flonne said the words "Eternal Love" and Laharl screamed in unholy agony.

"I'd be concerned if it wasn't so stupid…" Mill said.

"We have to protect the prince at any cost! Charge!" Silo raised is axe and charged the enemy combatants. Soon, everyone else joined in as well. Despite their small numbers, these demons proved to be formidable opponents. They defeated several of Laharl's soldiers at once before being defeated themselves, and with the prince being weakened, it only made things that much more difficult.

"This is insane! How are they this good?" Lyra yelled as she parried an attack from one of the imps. Her opponent suddenly pulled back, much to Lyra's confusion. She looked up and saw an arrow flying straight at her head. "Damn it!" Before the arrow could hit it's mark, Krugis flew in its path and knocked it out of the air with his sword. He located the archer who fired it, who was part of a team on the ledge of a tall cliff and pointed his finger at her. Without warning, several large ice needles materialized and shot towards the enemy archery team, crushing them and the cliff they were firing from.

"Nice save!" Lyra said.

"Don't mention it…" Krugis said, not turning around.

Fleck stumbled around the battle field clutching his stomach. "Maybe I _should've_ just stayed home…." Without warning, fleck was shoved to the ground by warrior in black clothing. "Crap…" Fleck scooted back as his attacker raised his sword. 'Can we just skip to the part where I surrender? I'm seriously not even feeling up to it right now." The black clad warrior was about to strike but stopped. He fell forward, his face planted firmly in the snow, several arrows planted in his back. Fleck poked him with his foot to make sure he was down and looked up. He saw Celeste with her bow raised. "Oh thank God!"

"Should've listened." Celeste said, offering her hand to help him up. "What is with you, today? You look like you're about to keel over."

"Let's just say…I have a bit of a history and it's sort of catching up to me…" Fleck said.

"Like…my history?" Celeste asked.

"Kind of…I'd rather not think about it…" Fleck said

"Hey Celeste!" Neige's voice could be heard above the battle cries. "We need some back up overhere!" Celeste nodded and turned to Fleck.

"I'll be fine. Really." Fleck grinned. Celeste hesitated and then left to help Neige.

"So…do you think we can win?" Silo asked Misha as they cut down their opponents.

"They're strong, but their numbers are still too small. We'll eventually overwhelm them, but we _will_ suffer heavy casualties." Misha said as she sliced an enemy warrior in half. After several hours, Misha's prediction was coming true. The enemy was getting tired, and their already small number of soldiers was beginning to dwindle. Before long, they ordered a full scale retreat. "See? What did I tell you?"

"Ha! Eat that suckers!" Mill yelled as he watched them run.

"How's the prince?" Silo asked.

"He's still standing…but I don't know for how long." Mill said, glancing in Laharl's direction.

"Knowing the prince, though, he'll most likely continue the charge." Misha speculated. No less than a minute after she said that, Laharl pointed dramatically down the path the enemy went yelling "forward!"

"Right again…Ugh." Mill said slouching. "Hey, where are fleck and Vic?"

Fleck and Vic were walking with Celeste's squad. Fleck was biting his thumbnail while Vic was telling him to stop. Alice took note of this and walked over to –San, grumbling how hard it was to walk in prinny legs. "Hey! Heeey!" Alice yelled.

"What?" –San said in frustration.

"What's got you so grumpy?" Alice asked.

"I haven't had many appearances lately and it's getting to me…" –San replied.

"Anyway…do you know what's up with Fleck? He seems more idiotic that usual…" Alice said, glancing back at Fleck one more time.

"How am I supposed to know?" –San asked.

"Didn't you dedicate your life to him or something?" Alice pointed out.

"yeah…but it's not like I'm his parent. The closest thing he's done to opening up to me is asking me to spy on that healer he has the hots for." –San jabbed his thumb at Celeste.

"…That's pathetic…" Alice said.

"Maybe she won't show up, dood." Vic said with forced hope. "The food at the castle isn't exactly sanitary! I'm sure you just ate a bad piece of fruit or something, dood!" The trickles of sweat were becoming more and more obvious.

"Just stop it, Vic. We all know how this is going to end. We should just man up and-

"oho my…what a cute little boy…" a seductive and creepy voice made Fleck freeze mid-step. Up ahead he could see the prince staggering back from the tempting bosom of a succubus. Behind her, he could see several other demons with similar…assets… Succubi and Nekomatas were everywhere across the field.

"Yup…we're doomed, dood." Vic turned around to see a small dust cloud where Fleck was just standing. "Hey, what happened to manning up!"

"Screw that….!" Fleck called, his voice getting fainter and fainter.

"What's the matter know!" Krugis asked.

"I-I'm not sure why but…I can't stand women with sexy bodies!" The prince yelled.

"Are you kidding me!" Mill said. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic!" Mill stomped his foot.

_"Even _I _didn't know that little detail…"_ Silo thought in silent astonishment.

"Hmhmhmhm…." A sinister laugh snaked through the air.

"The attention of Laharl and the others was brought to a high peak. A black cloaked figure with tall black hair stood at the top. His white fangs sparkled slightly in the dim sunlight. "It has been quite a while, my prince. Do you still remember me?"

"How could I forget you? You're Maderas! You were banished from the kingdom for stealing my father's favorite snack, black pretzels!"

"That's what I call pathetic…" Flonne commented.

"So _you're_ responsible for this little stunt…What do you want form me?"

"The title of Overlord of course…"

"Ha! What a Joke…What could a pathetic outcast like you do to me?"

"Ah, but have you forgotten already? I know all of your weaknesses! Right Etna!"

Laharl's eye twitched. He and everyone else turned to face Etna.

"Run! Run! Run! Run!" Fleck darted through the cold snow fields, desperately looking for their entry point. "If I could just signal for a return portal, I can escape _her._" Just as Fleck finished that sentence, a furry foot planted itself directly into his Solar plexus. "Guh!" Fleck flew through the air and crashed against a nearby rock. "Oh…crap…"

"Long time no see…" Fleck's assailant cracked her knuckles. "…Little Bro…"

"G-G-Gwen…." Fleck said.

"Hey, dood! What's the deal! Leaving me behind like…" Vic saw Fleck and Gwen staring at him. "Gotta go." Vic turned and ran.

"Hey, Get back here!" Gwen yelled. While she was focused on Vic, Fleck grabbed a handful of snow and threw it in her face. "Gyah! Hey, don't play dirty!" Gwen wiped the snow from her face and ran after her brother and Vic who were foolishly leading her straight to their comrades.

"I couldn't escape!" Fleck yelled in despair.

"Serves you right, you hypocrite, dood!" Vic said, angrily. "I can't believe you'd sink that low! And you call yourself a main character, dood."

"Shut up! I'm a demon, what did you expect!" Fleck argued back.

"Hey! I see the others, dood!" Vic pointed with his wing.

What they saw was something only a Japanese game designer would be able to think up. Scores of beautiful, busty maidens did awkward battle with Laharl's army. "Wh-what the hell is this!" Fleck yelled in surprise.

"It's like some kind of messed up harem anime, dood." In the distance, they could hear Gwen yelling after them.

"She's already here? Quick! Maybe we can lose her in that pile of people getting beaten up by succubae." Fleck was about to rush into battle when Vic tugged on the back of his shirt. "What are you waiting for! Come on!"

"No dood…I'm tired of running." Vic said, a look of fierce determination in his eyes. "For the past 8 years, I've had to be ridiculed by that lazy bitch, dood." Vic curled his wings into what could be classified as fists and turned to face the direction Gwen was coming from. "This is the first job that I ever had where I wasn't ridiculed to the point of contemplating suicide, dood, and I'm not gonna let her ruin that!" Vic began sweating with fear. "You can go if you want, but I'm gonna settle this right now."

Fleck stared at vic, shocked. _"Maybe he's right…_" Fleck clenched his right hand and grinned, nervously. _"This'll never end if we keep running. I-I'll do it! I'll stand and fight! If we do this together, me and Vic might have a ch-"_ Fleck looked forward only to have Gwen's fist plant itself firmly into his face. He sailed through the air for a few seconds before skidding on the ground and into the large battle that was taking place.

Vic simply froze, all determination drained from his body. "_what the hell was I thinking, dood?"_

"Now then…" Gwen cracked her knuckles. "I should also point out that tables don't run off and abandon their owners who were so gracious enough to hire them." Gwen put on a sweet yet cold smile that spelled out I'LL KILL YOU to vic.

Krugis sliced his way through two succubae before he felt something hit the back of his left foot. He looked down to see fleck face down in the snow. "Fleck? What the hell happened to you?"

Fleck stood up, a fist shaped red mark in the center of his face. "You know what? I've honestly had just about enough of this." Fleck said, dejectedly. "I'm just gonna go home, crawl under a rock and just wait for the world to die."

"That won't work. I've tried." Krugis said. "Where's your little side kick?" As if to answer his question, a huge mushroom cloud appeared in the distance. Vic's faint scream was heard and it grew louder and louder as the source came closer. Vic landed with a thud, roasted and burned, at Fleck and Krugis' feet. "Okay…"

"Save…yourselves…dood…" Vic fell unconscious.

"Save ourselves? From what?" Krugis looked ahead and saw Gwen standing on a hill, another one of laharl's soldiers in a neck lock. "From her? She doesn't look much different from the others." Before fleck could stop him, Krugis leaped into the air and attempted to slash Gwen's arm off. Instead, he was swatted out of the air, much like a fly, by gwen's backhand.

"Ow! Who the hell is this?" Krugis rubbed his left cheek.

"That's my sister…" Fleck said, his voice carrying an "I don't even care anymore" tone.

"Your sister?" Krugis felt the murderous intent oozing off of Gwen. "Geez, what did you do to get her this pissed off?"

"He drank the last of her favorite brand of milk, dood." Vic explained.

"That's it? Why didn't she just buy more!" Krugis asked.

"Because the people that made it went out of business so she was planning on rationing it." Fleck said.

"That still doesn't seem like a reason to kill someone." Krugis said.

"It's the netherworld, dude. Have you learned nothing since you came here?" Fleck said.

"Quit ignoring me!" Gwen's fist passed between Fleck and Krugis as they dodged her blow.

"Gale Sla-" Before Krugis could finish, Gwen planted her foot firmly into his face and knocked him into the air. She grabbed Krugis's leg and threw him at Fleck and Vic, knocking all three of them into a nearby boulder.

"You know, it was actually pretty difficult finding you guys." Gwen started. "I must've searched a dozen different towns looking for you." She almost sounded impressed.

"By 'searched' you mean 'wiped out' don't you?" Fleck speculated.

"Yeah, kind of." Gwen scratched the back of her head as if she was being modest about a great accomplishment.

"Don't act so proud! You ruined dozens of lives!" Fleck yelled, standing up and getting closer to gwen.

"Well it all started when _you_ ruined _mine_!" Gwen jabbed an accusing finger into Fleck's chest.

"Ruined your…If this is about the milk then I'm sorry! There, I said it!" Fleck said, his frustration clearly beginning to outweigh his fear. "I suspected that you'd rampage through junktown for a while, but I didn't expect you to start tearing through the whole damn countryside!"

Gwen clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in anger. She punched Fleck _hard_ in the gut and kneed him in the face as he collapsed, knocking the poor thief onto his back. "Do you honestly think that this is about the stupid milk stash!" Gwen yelled. "Yeah, I am still mad about it, but that's still not a reason for me to start chasing you halfway across the netherworld and joining up with that creep, Maderas!"

"Told you so." Krugis pointed out.

"Wait, so if it's not about the milk then why are you even here?" Fleck asked, still clueless.

By this point, small tears began to well up in Gwen's eyes. "I'm not chasing you because of the milk. I'm chasing you because you left. Do you know what it's like living alone in that place!" Gwen looked like she was about break down any second. "Things just got worse and worse since you left. You know how it was. No one who came into junktown was a permanent resident. They'd only use it as a place to lay low or a starting point for when they finally made it big. I made dozens of friends there but they never stay that way for long." Gwen fell to her knees and looked down. "You…you guys were the only constants in my life. The only thing that was stable…that was safe." Fleck could tell she was trying to hold back a sob. "I know I was hard on you guys all the time…and I admit that I kinda, sorta, wanted to break your arms for drinking my stash…but I still didn't…I just…"

Fleck felt a large wave of guilt was over him. He knew more than anyone else what Gwen has gone through. He knew what it was like to constantly wave good bye to people you barely started to know or understand. All the friendships he could've had were stopped before they were even given a chance to grow. He didn't want anything extravagant. He didn't someone who was really strong or smart. He just wanted someone who could just be there when you needed them to, a shoulder to lean on when you couldn't stand on your own. For a time, Fleck realized he and Vic were those people for Gwen. When they both ran off, it must've hit her pretty hard. While Fleck and Vic managed to find new people to form those bonds with, Gwen was left in the dust.

Fleck stepped over to Gwen who was actually crying by this point. He kneeled down and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey, come on. It's not like you to just start bawling like that."

"Sh-shut up!..." Gwen said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Listen…I'm sorry for just ditching you back there. I know how hard it can be to live in a world like this. I'm sure Vic is sorry too, right Vic?" Fleck called over.

"Please don't break my wings!" Vic pleaded.

"That means yes." Fleck said. "Hey…How bout you come back with us?"

"WHAT, dood!" Vic yelled.

"Really?" Gwen said.

"NO!" Vic yelled again.

"Yeah! I'm sure you'd get along great with the others. Plus with your combat skills I'm sure the prince could really use you in his army." Fleck said.

"Are you even listening, dood!" Vic yelled.

"You…you'd really take me back?" Gwen asked.

"Of course I would. We're siblings, aren't we?" Fleck smiled. "No matter what you've done, or what happened in the past, your family's going to be waiting for you. If you fall, they'll be there to pick you right up." Fleck extended his hand. "Don't you think so?"

Gwen stared at Fleck with disbelief for several minutes before smiling. "Yeah…" She grabbed Fleck's hand and stood up.

Fleck turned around and waved for Krugis and Vic to come over. "Come on, guys! She's not gonna beat you up anymore!"

"Alright, but she's travelling in front. The last thing I want is for her to turn traitor and sneak up on us." Krugis said, sheathing his sword.

"I agree, dood." Vic piped up.

"We should head back, the others are probably pretty pissed right about now." Fleck said.

The four of them then darted off back the way they came. Fleck's words were still ringing in Krugis's head. _"No matter what you've done…you're family's always waiting for you."_ He thought about Celeste, and about their father and their mother. He also thought about what Lyra said. _"when you're ready to stop acting like a child, you should have a talk with you know who."_ Krugis bit his lip. "Maybe…it _is_ time to let go…"

"So…How'd you end up here?" Fleck asked.

"There was a job posting in a town I wandered into." Gwen explained. "Looking to kill the overlord. Accepting anyone with a positive outlook on life and/or a smoking hot body. That's seriously what it said on the poster." Gwen said, expressing her disbelief in how blunt the poster was. "The employer turned out to be the late King's ex-butler. He also had someone on the inside who could give him detailed descriptions of the prince's movments."

"So we have a traitor! Who is it?" Fleck asked.

"It's Etna." Krugis stated calmly.

"What? Why? And how do you know?" Fleck yelled.

"There was a big revelation while you guys ran off. It was actually pretty intense. You should've seen it, everyone was acting all dramatic and stuff…" Krugis began to explain the events like a guy describing a cool movie he just saw to his friend.

"So…did the prince…you know…"

"Did he kill her? No, surprisingly. They managed to work it out somehow." Krugis said. "Actually, now I think they're more motivated than ever. We might be able to make it back for the big showdown."

"Well what are we waiting for!" Fleck darted ahead only to bump into something huge and meaty. He looked up as whatever he bumped into loomed over him and his companions.

**Back with the others**

"This is bad…" Silo stepped back, his axe held up in a defensive manner. The entire army was crushed. The only ones left were Silo, his squad, celeste's squad, the Prince, Etna, Flonne, and a handful of prinnies. They held a tight circle around a weakened Laharl as Maderas' forces surrounded them.

"A peaceful world…" One of the succubae said, seductively. Laharl recoiled in pain.

"A ray of hope!" Another cried. The prince was on his knees.

"This is just stupid!" –San growled in frustration.

"Killed under the bouncing bosom of a beautiful maiden! Somehow, this kind of death doesn't seem so bad." Mill said.

"Don't give up just yet! Besides, these aren't maidens, they're soul sucking little hell spawns." Lyra said, jabbing her spear forward to keep the enemy troops at bay. "We have to make it through this…we just have to."

"Hahahahah! So, prince, can you withstand an attack on both of your weaknesses!"

"Hold it!" A large explosion erupted in the background as several more demons engaged Maderas's army.

"What in the world!" Maderas yelled.

"Reinforcements?" Silo said.

"Yeah, but from where? I thought we brought our entire fighting force with us." Misha added.

"I see…I-It's Hoggmeiser!" Mill exclaimed.

"Who? You mean the pig guy? I was wondering where he went." Silo grinned.

"I also see Fleck, Vic and Krugis." Lyra pointed towards the trio and Gwen fighting alongside Hoggmeiser. "Who's the other chick? She looks like one of Maderas's guys."

"Who cares? We have a chance now!" Neige yelled.

"When a lovely flower sheds a tear…I am there to wipe it's sadness away. My flower shall bloom, bearing love!" A spotlight shined on a tall stone platform with rose petals falling from an unknown source. "You have me to thank for bringing in the cavalry." Mid-Boss stepped into view and bowed.

"You…Who are You?" Maderas yelled.

"I am the dark Adonis Vy-

"It doesn't matter who you are! You'll die along with the prince." Madras threatened.

"How rude! Oh, well…I'm not here to see _you_ anyway." Mid-boss turned to the prince. "How is everything going? You don't look so well."

"What do you want _now_?" Laharl yelled.

"How can you be so discourteous? Especially when I came all this way to warn you." Mid-boss stated.

"Warn Me?" Laharl along with everyone else was confused.

"Don't be fooled by appearances. Relying on sight and sound alone will only lead to delusion!" Dramatic music and singing began playing as Mid-boss spoke. "once you open your minds eye you will never be deceived by mere facades!" Several more spotlights shined down on Mid-boss.

"Where are the lights coming from?" Mill asked.

"Screw the lights I want to know who's singing." Silo replied.

"Now is the time to set your mind free! Awaken to your power!" A large explosion erupted just behind mid-boss spreading confetti everywhere. Then…there was silence. Mid-boss looked around to see everyone, even maderas, staring at him.

"Um…mister Mid-boss? That was a wonderful speech and everything, but I think you may have set the bar a little too high for Laharl." Flonne said.

"Oh, then just close your eyes and cover your ears. It's basically the same thing."

Laharl did so and smiled. "Ha! Now I have no weaknesses."

Maderas glared at Laharl intensly.

"Fleck! Krugis!" Celeste yelled. Celeste and the others gradually made their way towards Fleck as Laharl and Maderas faced off. "I was worried sick about you guys." Celeste threw her arms around both of them and squeezed. Fleck welcomed it wholeheartedly while Krugis looked rather uncomfortable. _"Oh, crap!"_ Celeste just reacted without thinking. She expected Krugis to shove her away any second now. To her surprise, he didn't. He just sort of stood there, not really reacting to anything. She loosened her grip and got a better look at his expression. He refused to make I contact with her. She smiled a bit. While she sensed it was still a long way to them getting closer, it was still a start.

"Sorry we're late, dood!" Vic piped up.

"Don't you dare scare us like that again!" Silo yelled.

"huh?" Vic was perplexed.

"Do you know what would've happened if you got killed out there!" Mill added.

"You guys…" Vic had tears in his eyes. _"you really do care, dood!"_

"No one here is as good at being a game table like you, Vic!" Silo finished. Vic froze.

"Yeah! You're actually more stable than some of the real ones we have back in the lounge. You okay?" Mill poked vic who simply fell like as stiff as a board onto the snowy ground.

"How did you guys find us?" Neige asked.

"I ran into this bozo when we were running back here. Lucky, huh?" Fleck jabbed his thumb at hoggmeiser who was scratching his head modestly. "After that, Mid-boss over there led us here."

"Hey! Enough of the pleasantries! Lets' just kick some ass!" Gwen yelled in an enthusiastic manner.

"Who's she?" Celeste asked.

"I'll explain later but first…" Fleck readied his sword. Eveyone else did the same with their weapons. It was going to be a fun afternoon.

**After the Battle**

"EEEEEEP! Please! Spare my life, I beg of you!" Maderas cowered.

"What should I do?" Etna cracked her knuckles.

"Please master etna! Your beauty and Intelligence remain unsurpassed in all the netherworld!" Maderas kissed her feet.

"Well, killin a loser like you would only dirty my hands so…I'll forgive you. On one condition." Etna said.

"Yes! I'll return all of Master Laharls photos as well as you memory…I promise." Maderas bowed.

Etna smiled as the soldiers took Maderas back through the dimensional gate. "And that takes care of that."

"No it doesn't!" Laharl yelled. "You poisoned me, used me as bait for your revenge…what kind of Vassal are you?"

"But Laharl!" Flonne said.

"Should we help stop them?" Celeste asked.

"Nah…They'll be fine." Silo said. "Let's just head back, I'm beat."

**Castle Lounge**

Those that weren't in the infirmary were celebrating in one of the lounges in the castle. Drinks and Karaoke were set up all across the room. Fleck and Gwen were telling stories about their life before. Krugis merely sat in the corner and watched things unfold while Silo was lying down on the couch with Misha and Mill sitting with him.

"Today wash a great Victory…eh…?" Mill slurred.

"Put the booze down for a minute, would ya?" Silo scolded. "Hm?"

Vic walked over to Silo and gave him a small stack of papers. "You wanted to see this, right, dood?" Vic asked.

"Oh yeah…I forgot all about this." Silo took the stack and stood up. He read the title in his head. "_Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness, First Full Draft."_

"It looks like a manuscript." Misha said.

"I'll take a look at it later tonight. I'll show you guys tomorrow." Silo tucked the stack of papers under his arm and turned towards the door.

"No fair!" Mill pointed towards Silo.

"Fine, you take it!"

"I know I was complaining, but I really don't give a crap, man. It's just what you're supposed to say, you know?" Mill burped.

"You're a moron." Silo shook his head and walked out.

"Yo." Lyra called out.

Krugis looked up and saw a glass of vodka being offered to him. "Thanks…"

"Nice job out there!" Lyra beamed.

"With what?"

"With Celeste earlier."

"So I let her hug me, big deal." Krugis took a sip from his glass.

"Yeah, but before you could barely stand the sight of her! Maybe what I said to you finally got through." Lyra had a sly grin on her face.

"Whatever floats your boat." Krugis said with no hint of emotion.

"Geez, even at a party you're no fun." Lyra finished her glass in one gulp and slammed it on the table. "I'd talk more but I'm just too tired. I'll hit the hay." She turned around and waved at Krugis as she left. "Ciao!"

Krugis watched her leave and turned over to Fleck and Gwen who were still laughing and drinking. Although he was loathe to admit it, he felt sort of jealous of Fleck. Why didn't _he_ have the kind of familial bond that Fleck did? It made him feel sort of empty inside. He finished his glass and made his way out the door. He was just too tired.

**Silo's room**

Silo flipped through the pages of the supposed manuscript over and over again. Each time a sense of dread crept over him. "This is…" He set the pages down on the side table and slumped down against the headboard of his bed. "What do I do now?"

**To be Continued! Dun Dun Dunnnnnnn**

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

FLECK: With Midterms fast approaching, Fleck struggles to keep up his studies while trying to keep his relationship with Celeste.

NEIGE: ooooh! Sounds like someone is making an indirect confession.

FLECK: shut up…But! No matter what he does, her older brother Krugis and his older sister Gwen conspire to keep the two lovers apart.

KRUGIS: Seriously? I'm the villain AGAIN?

VIC: I thinks he's trying to tell you something subconsciously, dude.

FLECK: But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the gleam of Fleck's Rapier as he breaks through the front window of Krugis's ball. Fleck valiantly Challenges Krugis for Celeste's hand in Marriage!

CELESTE: Oh my…(blushes)

FLECK: Fight on, Sir Fleck. The stars are on your side!

KRUGIS: what good will they do?

FLECK: Next time on Knight of Love and justice Disgaea: "Tears and Thorns!"

**Afterword**

So, there you have it. I know that the chapter title didn't really have much to do with the actual events in the chapter itself, but I didn't want to break my chain of altering the episode titles of the actual game.

Anyway, what is the startling revelation that the manuscript has given Silo? What will he do based on this new revelation (it's not that hard to figure out)? You'll have to wait and see.


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome to the latest installment of Disgaea**: Almost the Hour of Darkness**. Friendships are pushed to the test, the right to rule is challenged, and Vic gets…

VIC: aaaaaah! (Hopeful tone)

…absolutely nothing beneficial.

VIC:Awwww!

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

**Chapter 7: Silo's Challenge**

**Some random town (3 years ago)**

_ "Just toss her in there. She can't do much." The guard tossed Misha into a dirty cell beneath the house of a well known magistrate. "That's the second one this month. You think the citizens are planning some kind of uprising?"_

_ "I f they are, I'm getting out of here. Too much trouble."_

_ Misha watched the two guards walk out of the cell block and sighed. She hadn't expected to get caught this quickly. Before long, Misha heard a voice whispering to her out of nowhere._

_ "Psst." The voice said. "Hey! You listening?"_

_ Misha looked around and saw a small little hole on the wall to her right. She crawled over and looked through it to see someone else (or rather, someone else's eye) staring back at her. "That was you, I'm guessing?"_

_ "Yup. So what are you in for?" the voice asked._

_ "I tried to assassinate the magistrate. I was climbing up the side of the building when they captured me." Misha explained._

_ "What a coincidence! Same here…well, except I just busted through the front door and mad a scene. I must've taken out about half the guards."_

_ "That explains the lack of security when I first got here, but why would you try something so stupid?" Misha asked._

_ "Well…I figured they wouldn't expect someone to just attack head on like that and I could catch them off guard." The voice explained, timidly. "Say, why are you after this guy anyway?"_

_ "I was hired by the previous magistrate who lost his re-election campaign. What about you?" Misha pressed her ear against the hole._

_ "I was hungry."_

_ "…" Misha took a second to absorb the answer. "What?"_

_ "From what I gather, this Magistrate guy is a total dick. Nobody likes him so I figured that if I offed the guy then there would be a huge celebration with all sorts of free food."_

_ "Wouldn't it have been easier if you just stole some food from a grocery stand or something?"_

_ "Yeah…but then I would've gotten thrown into jail instead of the magistrate's personal torture chamber." The voice sounded happy. "I'm next in line on the chopping block, so I'll take him down the second he comes up to me."_

_ "I still fail to see how this is better than a night in jail."Misha was completely perplexed by this guys reasoning. "Hey…what's your name?"_

_ "The name's Silo."_

_ "Mine's Misha."_

**Laharl's Castle (present day)**

Silo flipped through the script which brought back countless memories of his adventures on the way to this castle. "Man…That was so long ago. Misha hit that guy so hard his kidneys shot out of his tear ducts." Silo recalled the memory fondly along with the fact that, after the celebration of the magistrate's defeat, the town they "saved" descended into anarchy and wiped itself off of the map. "I guess this really is a recording of my life…but why is it here?"

**Unknown Location**

Somewhere, deep in the farthest reaches of the Netherworld, three rather strange individuals met for the first time in several months. Well, I suppose strange isn't exactly the right word. The way each one of them moved seemed almost ghostlike. The fact that they were only silhouettes wasn't helping. It was as if they existed just outside of the boundaries of the physical realm. Close enough to be seen but far enough away that you couldn't reach them unless they wanted you to. The three of them stopped walking as soon as they reached a large clearing in a forest and began to speak.

"So…" One of the silhouettes piped up. "…What is it that's so important you had to drag us all the way out here? Astral projections like this aren't exactly easy to do." The voice carried an arrogant tone and gave the impression that he thought he was too good for this.

"I don't know…I kind of like these meetings. Teamwork is an important aspect to achieving success." The next voice that popped up was kinder and a bit more patient.

"I don't need any of your defender of earth handbook BS right now, okay?" the previous voice replied.

"That's enough, both of you!" the third and final voice was more commanding and loud. It was one that suggested the speaker was used to speaking in front of others from a high position. "We've already lost two members so I want to make sure there aren't any foul ups this time around."

"Why can't we just come in all at once and off the guy, already?" the first silhouette complained.

"If you'd like to take on the prince's army all by yourself, be my guest." The third silhouette offered. He took his colleagues silence as a sign to continue talking. "My sources tell me that we have another comrade to aid us in our cause."

"So someone else has awakened to their script?" the second Silhouette asked.

"Precisely. So, before we make any further attempts to take down our target, I suggest we send a greeting to our would be ally." The third silhouette proposed.

"What, do you want one of us to bring him a gift basket and a brochure?" the first silhouette sarcastically remarked.

"Thank you for volunteering Delsen." The third silhouette said.

The first Silhouette, apparently named Delsen, gave an exasperated sigh. "Should've seen that coming…Why can't Glaster go!" Delsen pointed over to his other colleague.

"Because he's stuck on earth and you're all I have left stationed here in the netherworld. You should've known that joining us meant you'd eventually have to do the legwork now get to it." The third Silhouette's voice was calm but carried a hint of irritation.

"Oh fine…" Delsen placed his hands on his hips. "Where is the little sucker, anyway…?"

"Laharl's castle."

"Oh F-k off!" Delsen yelled.

"His name is Silo. Now go!" the third silhouette and Glaster faded away without another word.

Delsen's silhouette just stood there. "Damn it…This better not turn out like Asagi…"

**Castle Courtyard**

_Dear Sirs and Madams_

_I hope these dark days find you well_

_However, I, Laharl am deeply concerned over the current state of the netherworld_

_I am well aware that unnecessary bloodshed is not your desire_

_Therefore, I am writing to propose a formal challenge. An event with my father's title at stake-the title of overlord._

_The rules are quite simple._

_On Curse day, in the month of adder, I will journey to the heart of evil carrying with me the official deed._

_The one who wrests the deed from my hand will be recognized as the new overlord._

_In the event that I reach my destination while still in possession of the deed, I will assume the position myself._

_To those with great ambition, I encourage you to come._

_Sincerely, prince Laharl_

Fleck and the others read the pamphlet carefully and thoroughly. An awkward silence permeated the courtyard. There were no swords clanging against each other, no one playing cards or games and no one at the archery range. All eyes were focused on the pamphlets plastered to the walls of the courtyard.

"Well…" Fleck gulped. "I guess our goose is cooked…" Fleck tugged at the edges of his collar as he broke into a cold sweat. "Isn't today…curse day?"

"I saw a bunch of guys leaving through the gate earlier this morning. I guess this was the reason." Misha pointed out.

"This is gonna suck…" Mill groaned. "Silo, what do you think?" Mill received no response.

"Silo?" Misha turned and saw Silo sitting on the ground staring into the sky. "Silo!" Misha snapped her fingers and Silo suddenly became aware of his surroundings.

"Huh? What?" Silo looked around and saw the crowd of onlookers dispersing. "What's going on?" Silo stood up, hastily.

"Are you okay? You've been acting pretty weird the last couple of days." Fleck asked.

"You're imagining things." Silo brushed Fleck off and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Misha asked.

"Bathroom." Silo entered the castle and darted off back to his room.

"What was that about?" Fleck asked.

_**Frozen River (2 years and 3 months ago)**_

_ "How many of these things are there!" Silo yelled as he cut through zombie after zombie. "At this rate, my axe going to break!"_

_ "Just fight!" Misha and Silo continued their heated escape through the snow covered forest. The two of them had barely finished setting up camp when several dozen of these monsters just popped out of nowhere. They had been fighting for six straight hours._

_ "We can't keep this up. We need to find someplace to hold up. God, this is starting to sound like a crappy horror flick." Silo said as he crushed the skull of one of his opponents._

_ After several minutes Misha spotted a small trail of smoke in the sky. "There!" The two of them followed it until they came upon the opening to a small cave. They quickly entered and shoved a large boulder in front to block out the entrance._

_ "That should do it…for now."Silo said._

_ "What are you doing! Don't clog the entrance like that, we'll run out of air." A young man's voice echoed from behind Misha and Silo who immediately drew their weapons._

_ "Show yourself." Misha demanded._

_ "Relax, I'm not a zombie." A young man with short brown hair and barbed robes. He also wore a chain around his waist like a belt and had large handcuffs on each wrist. "I'm guessing you're new arrivals. My name is Mill, nice to meet you." _

_ "How did you end up here?" Silo asked._

_ "I just left my village in search of adventure but found a ravenous gang of zombies waiting for me instead. They chased me into this cave where I have been stuck in for the past…I don't know, 3 months." Mill explained._

_ "You've been here three months? How have you survived this long?" _

_ "Oh, there's food everywhere if you know where to look…and have no intention of keeping your dignity…" Mill sounded a little sad at the last part. "Anyway, now that you're here, my plan will go by much faster!"_

_ "Plan?" Misha raised an eyebrow. _

_ "I've been digging my way out of this cave and I think I've already gotten about as far as 3 Kilometers in. If my map is correct there should be a town not far from this forest."_

_ "Define 'not far', exactly." Silo questioned._

_ "About…6 miles." Mill said casually. "Well, that tunnel isn't gonna dig itself."_

**Laharl's Castle (present)**

"That's in here too." Silo recalled the few days they spent with mill in that harsh winter. "I remember Mill decided it would be simpler if we just blasted our way out and we managed to escape with most of our stuff still intact."

He remembered –San's monologues about being a scrapped main character. "Does this mean I am one of them as well?" Silo skimmed through the story printed on the pages. It wasn't anything unique and it followed the basic formula of an adventure story. Silo put the stack of papers down and thought. "I guess I'm not really a "scrapped" main character since I'm still here. If anything it's more like I'm "repurposed." Silo scratched his head, trying to make sense of everything. "At this point I have two options. Option 1, I ignore this little detail and keep going as I have been…Or option 2 I challenge fleck and join the other rejects…But if I do that…then I'd betray the prince and to betray the prince means to betray King Krichevskoy…" Silo took another look through the script. "But in this story…me and Misha…nnnnnggh!" Silo was in complete conflict within himself. Before he could come to any sort of resolution, the alarm sounded. "Damn it…" Silo half-heartedly grabbed his axe and sulked to the dimensional gate.

"Is it me…or has our fighting force been severely reduced…" Krugis said with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Not surprising…The poster did say that anyone could participate." Lyra said.

"I realize that but…still."

"Whatever, we'll make do with what we have!" Fleck yelled, confidently. "Besides, I'm sure it won't be that bad. I mean, we're talking about an overlord here. How many people do you think have the balls to take on someone like the prince?"

**30 minutes later**

Fleck stared with a mixed expression of horror and amazement at the sight before him. No less than 5 feet into the designated are, they had come to an anime convention's worth of adversaries clustered together right in front of them. Fleck even recognized a few of them as former allies who he fought with in previous adventures.

"Oh! I'm sure it won't be that bad! Who would want to take on the prince!" Mill repeated flecks words mockingly.

"Sh-shut up!" Fleck stammered.

"Hell of a first day, huh?" Gwen suddenly spoke up and cracked her knuckles.

"What the…Oh yeah, I forgot…_you_ joined up." Fleck said, suddenly very depressed.

"At _your_ invitation. Don't forget that little detail." A confident grin spread across Gwen's face. "Now then…Let's cut loose!"

Within seconds the two opposing armies charged towards each other and erupted in a frenzy of violence and signature moves being called out simultaneously. The only one who stayed back was Silo who was still feeling conflicted over his recent discovery.

"I can't believe I'm actually considering letting Fleck die. I mean, yeah we started out on the wrong foot but he's actually pretty capable when push comes to shove." Silo started talking to himself as the battle raged on around him. Little did he know, someone was tracking his every move…sort of.

**Off in the distance on top of a large hill**

"What the hell? He's just standing there…" Delsen stared at Silo frustratingly through his binoculars. "And why is no one killing him? He's a sitting duck, come on!" Delsen stuffed the binoculars back into his coat and sat as the base of a tree as he watched the battle unfold.

Delsen wore a white suit that looked better suited for a formal ball than a battle. He also had black, fingerless gloves and a rapier strapped to his belt. He was Caucasian and had messy blond hair and piercing brown eyes. Basically, he was the definition of a douche bag, aristocratic pretty boy.

"I don't think I should attack them just yet, it would get too messy." Delsen stood up and walked deeper into the woods. "I wouldn't be able to make a proper entrance anyway."

**With Fleck and the others**

"Hell yeah!" Fleck stood triumphantly over a small pile of fallen enemies. "Who survived? I did!"

"You know something's wrong with your career choice when your main goal in life is to see the next sunrise." Gwen commented.

"I don't want to hear that from someone like you." Fleck retorted. He leaped down from the pile of bodies, still beaming over having survived. He saw Silo standing off to the side and called over. "Hey, Silo! Come on man, we won!"

"Y-yeah…" Silo forced a smile.

Fleck gave Silo a strange look and walked over to Misha and Mill. "Hey, what's eating Silo? He's starting to depress me a little."

"I don't know what's wrong. He's been like this ever since you're sister joined." Mill said.

"I can understand him being scared of her the first few days, but she hasn't physically harmed anyone besides me the entire time she's been here." Fleck said. Their conversation was soon interrupted by several of their allies screaming and flying through the air. "What the hell?" Fleck saw a single swordswoman standing in their way.

"Guys we need your help!" Celeste called ahead.

Silo was about to rush in when he felt a strange presence. "Huh?' Silo turned around and looked out into the distance. "Is someone there?" Silo looked back at Fleck and the others who were engaging the swordswoman and then back out into the distance. "Damn it, I know someone is out there." Silo darted off, deep into the woods.

"Damn, this chick is tough…" Fleck said after getting knocked back for the seventh time. "Silo, we could use a hand here…or an axe since that's what you're good at." No response. "Silo?" Fleck saw Silo disappear into the foliage. "Silo!"

Mill and Misha exchanged concerned looks and decided to follow after him.

**With Silo**

"I know you're here! Come out!" Silo had stopped in the middle of a small clearing. The presence he sensed earlier was somewhere around here, he could feel it. "Come out, I want to ask you something."

"You found me this quickly, huh?" Delsen stepped out of the bushes "What's your name?" Delsen asked, examining Silo from head to toe.

"It's Silo…"

"Oh, good. That means I don't have to fight you just yet." Delsen seemed relieved. "Greetings! My name is Delsen." He gave Silo a bright smile.

"Are you…one of those 'main character' freaks?" Silo asked.

"I don't really like the idea of being called a freak. Especially not from one of our own." Delsen said. "Yes, I know about the script you found. We all have one." Delsen pulled out a stack of papers. "This one's mine. To be honest the story is pretty much crap…but I always came out on top one way or the other. I've done alright so far and as you can probably tell, I've had a privileged life style." Delsen stuffed his script back into his coat. "To be honest, the only reason I want the position of Main character is to ensure my good fortune."

"So…are you here to kill fleck?"

"That and I'm also here to recruit you." Delsen said. "Since you've awakened to your script, which makes you one of us."

"I want to ask you a few things." Silo said. "How many people have their own script?"

"Hm…that's a tough one. It's tough because there isn't any way to tell who has one and who doesn't. Hell, I'll bet some people found theirs and never even acted on it."

"What happens after fleck is gone?" Silo stared at Delsen intently.

"What do you mean?"

"After fleck is defeated, who takes over as the main character?" Silo stepped forward. "From what I gather, you guys are all working together. But what happens when there is no common enemy? There can only be one lead character so who is it going to be?"

Delsen thought for a moment. "I guess…the one who defeats fleck…becomes the new target." Delsen said. Mere seconds after he finished that statement, Delsen brought his rapier up and blocked an attack from Silo. "Well now…" Delsen's eyes were fierce and cold. "…Should I take this as your answer?"

"What do you think?" Silo pushed Delsen away and charged forward for another strike. "I don't see the point in making an alliance if you're just going to turn on each other eventually!" Silo continued to attack Delsen, missing every time. "The way I see it, I should just skip to the part where I kick your ass!" Silo smashed his axe into the ground, causing a huge fissure to erupt in front of him, knocking Delsen off balance. "Consider this _my_ challenge for the position of main character against you!"

Delsen glared at Silo in frustration and then sighed. "Exactly like Asagi…" Delsen stood up and dusted off his suit. "Just so you know, me and the others aren't like –San or Alice. We won't settle for playing second banana to one of the worst classes in the game."

"What are you talking abo-" Before Silo could finish; Delsen drew his Rapier and rushed him. Silo's axe was cut clean in half.

"We're also not nearly as weak." Delsen turned around and started taking repeated thrusts at Silo's head with his sword.

Silo turned around to face Delsen. _"What do I do?"_ was the main question bouncing around in his head. As Delsen prepared for another attack, several familiar voices rang through the air.

"Silo!"

"Don't worry, we're coming!"

Silo looked over and His squad, Celeste's squad, and Krugis running towards him. "You idiots, get away from here!"

"You're the idiot here!" Fleck yelled out. "What were you thinking running off on your own like that!"

"What the…Delsen!" –San yelled.

"Well if it isn't the traitors. Looking good there, Alice." Delsen taunted.

"Piss off." Alice said.

"This actually saves me a lot of trouble. Now I can kill two birds with one stone." Delsen rushed at Fleck only to be blocked by Misha.

"Worthless." Misha along with Lyra and Krugis attacked Delsen repeatedly but only managed to land a few shallow scratches.

"Keep it up! He can't take us all at once." Krugis said.

"I won't go down that easily." Delsen swung his sword which sent a large gust of wind that sent everyone flying backwards. "I'm not even after you morons anyway. I'm just here for them." Delsen pointed his sword at Fleck and Silo.

"Silo…you might want to run." Fleck said.

"I'm surprised to hear that coming from you."

"You don't even have your weapon! Besides, why would you even consider going up against this guy alone? You know that's suicide right?" Fleck scolded.

"I have my own reasons!" Silo yelled back.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Delsen attacked but was blocked by Fleck. "Not bad for a thief."

"Why are you guys so persistent! I don't even want to be the main character if this keeps up!" Fleck yelled. He made a few feeble attempts to attack but they all did very little in the way of actually harming Delsen. "Can't I just say 'I quit' and be done with it?"

"Not quite that simple, I'm afraid. You could just sit there and let me kill you, but you have to participate in this in one way or the other. Anyone who has their script should know that by now." Delsen explained.

"What script?" Fleck asked.

"Don't play dumb. You have it just like me and your little buddy over there."

"I don't have a script." Fleck said again.

"…" Silo looked into Flecks eyes and could tell that he wasn't lying. "You really don't know?" Delsen pulled out his script. "This. You haven't found anything like this?"

"Dude, I'm telling you. I haven't found anything like a script. Well…Silo did a couple days back but not me." Fleck said, a confused look on his face.

"But…but I thought...We were told that we were supposed to…" Delsen seemed genuinely distressed. "But…If you haven't even awakened yet then that means…" Suddenly, Delsen looked like he had realized something. "That bastard…"

"What are you talking about?" Fleck asked.

"Looks like there's been a bit of a…a miscalculation of sorts." Delsen explained.

"So does that mean you don't have to kill us?" Fleck asked.

"Actually no, I still have to murder you. I could be wrong so It would be better just to get rid of you know in case I am."

While Delsen was focused on Fleck, Mill staggered up and channeled a star spell in his hands. "Suck on this!" Mill fired his spell and burned off the entire back side of Delsen's suit and scorching the skin underneath.

"Gyaaaaah! You…you sneaky little bastard! Do you know how much this thing- guh!" Delsen received a punch in the face from none other than Gwen. "Where the…"

"Yeah! Right in the face!"

"When did you get here?" Fleck asked.

"I went looking for you after we encountered some rogue prinnies." Gwen explained. "They actually challenged us to a game of baseball, can you believe that?"

"How'd that go?"

"I don't really know. I left the moment the prince started slaughtering everything."

"So where is the prince now?" Silo asked. The moment he finished, a large pillar of fire erupted in the distance; screams of terror could be heard. "What the hell was that?"

"I guess our little prince is hunting bigger game!" Gwen said, excitedly.

"We have to help him!" Silo started to run but was stopped by Misha.

"Did you forget that you're unarmed? You'd be a nuisance as opposed to an asset." Misha explained it bluntly but truthfully.

"Not to mention that you still have me to deal with!" Delsen got up, a trickle of blood coming from his lip. "Don't you dare treat me like some annoying side character!" Before Delsen could attack, Krugis appeared behind him. Just as he was turning around, Krugis grabbed Delsen face, his palm glowing brightly. Delsen immediately began struggling desperately to get free. "Grrraaah! Stop it! Stop it, please! Let go!"

"It'll all be over soon enough."

"What are you doing, dood?" Vic asked.

"I'm force feeding images into his brain. It's a basic spell but it works."

"What kind of images, dood?"

"I'm forcing him to read the Bleach manga."

"What! That isn't so bad." Fleck complained.

"It's the Fullbring arc." Krugis replied gravely.

"It's just so horrible!" Delsen yelled.

"Stop it, you're killing him!" Fleck immediately reached for Krugis' arm.

"NO! don't tough the-"

As soon as Fleck toughed Krugis' arm, he experienced everything that Delsen did. The poorly constructed story, the horrible characters, and every half assed plot twist.

"No…no…NOOOO!" Fleck was pulled back into reality by Celeste who was holding him in her arms. "Oh god…"

"Don't you ever do anything like that again!" Celeste said.

"You idiot! I almost had him!" Krugis yelled.

"No one…deserves that…" Fleck gasped.

"Almost…didn't…make it…" Delsen was tired and had bags under his eyes.

"You guys are so melodramatic, dood." Vic said. "I actually like that arc…"

"That was playing dirty…" Delsen said. "Ordinarily, this is the part where I surrender and become a begrudging member of your group. But…I don't think I'll resort to that option just yet. There still some things I need to make sure of." Delsen threw a smoke bomb and ran away as far as he could. "I'm not through with you yet! So don't you dare forget about me!"

"That guy was a lot stronger than I thought." Silo said. "Way stronger than you guys." He looked at –San and Alice.

"Hey we just saved your ass!" Alice yelled.

"Can we just go? I honestly think staying with the prince is a lot safer than hanging around this place." Fleck said.

Everyone grabbed their weapons and made their way towards the princes last known location. Eventually they found him laughing in the Heart of Evil over a pile of bodies constantly yelling "Overlord" in a triumphant tone. With the battle won, Laharl and those who remained Loyal to him returned to the castle.

**At the Castle, on a balcony…**

"So that's what was bugging you…" Fleck said. He along with Vic, Mill, Misha, and Silo had gathered on a balcony overlooking the lava moat that surrounded the castle. "I have a feeling…that we're going to be haunted by this "main Character" business for a long time, huh?"

"Looks that way, dood." Vic said.

"And what was he talking about when he mentioned those scripts?" Silo said, flipping through his. "I mean, do they do anything? I wonder what would happen if I destroyed it?"

"I wouldn't try it out on purpose, dood."

"Whatever's happening, both you _and_ Silo are in this together now." Misha said.

"Well…if they're allowed to form an alliance then I guess its okay for us as well." Silo said.

"We should talk to Alice and –San when we get the chance. Maybe they'll know more about this." Fleck said.

"I'm sure we can handle it! We've gotten this far, haven't we?" Mill said. The five of them stared out into the distance, wondering what would be thrown their way next.

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

FLECK: The semi finals of the Netherworld Grand Prix are fast approaching but Fleck is locked in a deep state of depression.

VIC: It's a racing title now, dood?

FLECK: what's worse, Fleck replacement rider, Krugis, gets knocked into a deep coma after an accident on the race track!

KRUGIS: Why is it always me! Well…at least I'm not the villain anymore…

FLECK: With no other choice left to him, Fleck enters the race in this troubled mental state. While on the track, he encounters a dangerous new mystery racer!

VIC: Did he even say what he was depressed about, dood?

FLECK: Next time on Invincible Speed Demon Disgaea! Flecks Resolve! The mysterious masked racer.

VIC: I can never take you seriously anymore, dood…

**Afterword**

And here we have the seventh chapter. There wasn't a lot of humor in this but it's surprisingly hard to think up jokes that don't sound forced.

Anyway, Sorry to all the bleach fans out there but the current arc is just terrible. I lost what little respect I had left for bleach once I realized it was still going to continue. I'd elaborate on that but this isn't the place to do a rant so I guess I'll see you next time!


	8. Chapter 8

Aaaaaand we're back. Sorry for the long absence, folks.

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

**Chapter 8: Of being an MC**

**Unknown Location**

Delsen, or rather Delsen's silhouette projection, furiously walked through the dense woods and into the familiar clearing where he and his other two compatriots frequently plotted their next course of actions. Ordinarily, it would be their leader who would call them in but this time, it was Delsen who was calling the shots.

"Glaster! No Name!" Delsen called out. "I know you bastards can hear me so appear dammit!"

"Oh my g… do you have any idea who early it is on my side?" the silhouette projection of Glaster materialized in front of Delsen, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"I thought you guys were trained for this kind of thing. Anyway, where's No Name? There's a little detail I need to go over with him." Delsen appeared to be growing more impatient as the minutes passed. "Well!? Come forth! Or do I have to start calling you No Show instead of No Name!?"

"I'd prefer you calling me something along the lines of 'Master' or 'Lord' if you don't mind." The final Silhouette materialized next to Glaster. "Now what are you shouting about this time?"

"Fleck doesn't have his script yet." Delsen seethed through gritted teeth.

"…What? Are you serious!?" the Leader said.

"You heard me, Fleck doesn't have his script. He may never have had one in the first place." Delsen crossed his arms.

"No, not that. I meant did you seriously relent in your pursuit when you found out that Fleck didn't have his script!?" The Leader raised his voice so that the whole forest shook. "I guess I should have seen it coming seeing as how much you were holding yourself back during your fight with them. You and I both know you would have incinerated all of them if you were at your best."

"I didn't want to kill any potential allies." Delsen said, defensively.

"Allies today, enemies tomorrow. That's how it is for beings such as us." The Leader waved his hand dismissively.

"So what? You want me to head down there again?" Delsen asked.

"Not alone. I'm going to send help with you this time. Tog! Show yourself!"

"Tog? What the hell kind of name Tog?" Delsen turned around and almost yelled in fear when the person in question stepped out of the foliage. "A…a skull?"

Tog wore the tattered cloaks that were common amongst most skulls complete with the large, cut out eyes and the stitched up mouth that made up the cowl. The green tint of his clothing indicated that he was skilled in wind magic.

"Does…does it have to be a…skull. They kinda creep me out." Delsen kept a close eye on Tog. "Wait…does he have a script!?"

Tog, in response, pulled out a somewhat thin stack of papers and handed them to Delsen.

"Title pending?" Delsen flipped through the pages, skimming the dialogue. "Holy crap, this draft is only for one episode and it isn't even finished. The Author literally stopped mid sentence." He then looked over at Tog. "Not to mention your outfit. Did he get character design tips from Jhonen Vasquez or something?" Delsen handed the script back to Tog. "Damn, now I just feel sorry for you. So how do we do this?"

"Stake out the prince's castle and follow them. Wait for the right moment to strike and you shouldn't have any problems. Oh and don't hold back this time."

"Are you sure that Fleck is a part of this?" Delsen asked, his voice carrying a much graver tone than before.

The Leader stared him in the eye and nodded.

Delsen looked over at Tog who only gave him thumbs up in response. "(sigh)…This is going to suck, I just know it…"

When Delsen was out of earshot, Glaster turned to their leader. "Sir, what happens if you kill someone without a script?"

"Nothing."

"Then why did Delsen…?"

"He may not show it but Delsen is actually a bit of a softie. He doesn't like killing without reason or involving others unnecessarily. I wouldn't be surprised if he came back with Fleck and Silo tied up and alive when this next mission is done."

"Hmm…I see." Glaster took one last look in the direction that Delsen and Tog walked off in before disappearing. The Leader soon followed suit.

**Overlords Castle**

"HAhahahahahahaha!" Laharl's laughter echoed through every hall in the castle, invading every single room and interrupting several conversations.

"Shouldn't he have run out of breath by now?" Misha asked, plugging her ears.

"I haven't had a good night's sleep for weeks. When will this end!?" Mill yelled, stuffing paper in his ears.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"

"Oho God…is it getting louder?" Fleck groaned.

"I can fell the sound vibrations in my brain!" Mill yelled, clutching his head in pain. Suddenly, the laughter stopped. For a few precious moments, the castle settled into a pleasant silence. "Oh finally! Some god damn peace and quie-"

"We're moving out everyone! Suit up and head to the dimensional gate in 15 minutes!" Laharl's voice echoed through the speakers.

"Oh come on…give me a break here." Mill slammed his head on the table.

"Silo, Lets go." Fleck said. Silo nodded and the two of them walked over to Celeste's squad, specifically towards –San and Alice.

"Hey, could we borrow these two for a minute?" Silo asked.

"Go for it." Neige said. Fleck, Silo, -San, and Alice ventured off to another corner of the castle courtyard.

"What's this about, dood?" Alice asked.

"-San mentioned that there were three other main character rejects that you guys knew about. We want to know more about them. We already know about one so what about the other two?" Fleck said.

"Wait…who did you meet?" –San asked.

"Don't you remember? It's the guy who attacked us during Laharl's big tournament." Silo said.

"He was one of them too? I guess they expanded the roster since we quit." –San said.

"So you don't know him? Great, now we have four people to worry about." Fleck scratched his head.

"More like five. You forgot to count the one who was organizing the whole thing. He was the one who told us where you would be and how to strike. I don't know if he's actually one of us but it seems to be the most likely explanation." Alice said.

"So who are the ones you _do_ know?" Silo asked.

"The ones we met were a female brawler. She didn't have any weapons so I assumed she used her fist. There's also a marksman on their team. Needless to say, he's proficient with a gun. Finally there was a green skull that was with us when we were first called together so you can expect him to be good at wind magic. I've never seen them in action before so I can't say how good they are for certain, but you should just expect the worst."

"So we have a brawler, a marksman, a skull, that douche in the sharp suit and some shadowy mystery man who we have yet to see…great." Fleck sighed.

"Well, we'll deal with them as they come. Right now, we should focus on the job at hand." Silo said.

"They'll probably show up again today anyway." Fleck muttered under his breath.

"EVERYONE! FRONT AND CENTER NOW!" The princes voice echoed throughout the castle.

"And that's our cue!" Fleck said as everyone headed off towards the dimensional gate.

**Salamander's Breath**

A horde of shambling corpses stumbled throughout the scorched land. And these weren't the standard intelligent ones that were actually pleasant to deal with. These were the brainless flesh eating kind complete with constant moaning. Several were already burning due to their proximity to open lava flows but it was hardly enough to stem the horde.

"Huh…didn't we already do the zombie thing when Flonne and Krugis dropped into our laps?" Neige said as she passed the binoculars down to anyone who wanted it.

Fleck let out a huge yawn as he turned back towards the portal. "Well, if this is all we've got going for us, I'm out of here."

"What? Why?" Silo asked.

"It's like Neige said. We did the zombie bit already. It's boring now!" Fleck replied.

"Well who said work is always exciting?" Silo shrugged.

"Says the brochure!" Fleck pulled out the employment pamphlet and shoved it in Silos' face. Printed in large font on the cover were the words "WORK IS NEVER DULL IN THE CASTLE WALLS" After stuffing it back into his pocket, Fleck turned back and disappeared behind the portal, or he would have if Silo didn't grab his collar.

"Hey! We have to stick together!" Silo called out.

"It's not like one or two guys will make a difference anyway, dood." Alice chimed in.

"That's not what I meant. I was talking about those Main Character wannabe's staging an ambush." Silo retorted.

"Who would be able to sneak into the castle?" Fleck yelled, wrestling himself free of Silo's grip.

"Flonne did it, I don't see why anyone else would have any problems."

Fleck though for a moment. "You're right, this is serious."

**On Some cliff in the distance**

Delsen viewed the large entourage that accompanied the prince from his convenient perch. "Hmmm…I might be able to catch him in all the confusion, but I'll need some kind of disguise…" Delsen looked around until his eyes rested firmly on Tog. His rather creepily dressed companion was sitting cross legged on a boulder, his staff laying across his lap, in a meditative state. "You uh…you wouldn't mind if I took that mask and snuck into the enemy camp do you?" as Delsen reached to pull of the cowl, Tog's hand immediately shot up and grabbed Delsen's wrist. Message received, Delsen withdrew his hand and continued to play recon.

**Back with everyone else**

"All right everyone, keep pushing them back. The lava flow will take care of the rest!" Silo yelled. Several dozen soldiers, including his squad, had surrounded a small group of the zombie horde. After the usual hack and slash strategy proved to be inefficient Silo had come up with the idea to just corral the zombies into falling into one of the many lava lakes that surrounded them. It was slow but a hell of a lot less tiring.

"All right, this might take a little longer than we thought but we'll still be done by the end of the day." Flonne said.

"Ready to eat your words you little brat?" Lahalr sneered at a little boy with mid length red hair.

"Hmph. This won't work on my masterpiece." The boy, aramis, crossed his arms in a huff.

"Yeah, I'll bet…" Laharl muttered under his breath. Laharl scanned the landscape for any strays. He saw a small flicker in the hills to the west. He had been seeing that same flicker several times during this mission.

"Something wrong prince?" Etna asked.

"I think we're being watched. Send a squad or two to take care of it." Laharl ordered. Before Etna could make the call, Laharl stopped her again. "Wait. Send Silo and Neige's squad."

"Are you sure?"

"I know they aren't the most diligent ones we have but take a look at our records. They are the only members who haven't been replaced yet. All spots on our roster have been replaced at least twice except for these guys." Laharl explained. Etna shrugged her shoulders at called them over.

"You called, Miss Etna!?" Neige said as everyone fell in line.

"You guys scout out that hill. The prince thinks there might be someone out there and it's you're job to take out any uninvited guests!"

**With Delsen**

"Oh crap." Delsen watched Etna give everyone their orders as they started to head in his direction. "Crap, crap, crap!" Delsen tossed his binoculars and got up. "Hey, nap time is over, time to fall back." As Delsen started to run, he realized that Tog wasn't following. "What now!?" Delsen waved his hand in front of tog's face. "Hey!" Delsen slapped Tog across the head but got no response. "Are you kidding me!?" Delsen grabbed Tog by the collar and drag him across the ground, looking for a place to hide.

**With Fleck and the others**

"Do you think we missed a few?" Silo muttered as the ten of them scanned the area.

"Silo, you should realize what's going to happen right?" Fleck ran on top of one of the bigger rocks and started shouting. "WE ALL KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE SO JUST QUIT THE FOREPLAY AND JUST COME OUT!" Fleck yelled for all the netherworld to hear.

"Ha hahahahaha!" Delsen leaped out once Fleck was finished yelling, still trying to look dignified. "I'm thoroughly impressed you were able to detect my presence. Then again, stealth was never my forte." Delsen tried to manage his best evil grin despite the awkward atmosphere.

"Dude, I just said, cut the foreplay!" Fleck yelled back, ignoring Delsen's attempt at an introduction.

"Heh, I've gotta say, you've gotten a lot more bold than when we started this. Usually, you thieves are almost as cowardly as the prinnies." Delsen said.

"I can only keep up that 'cowardly thief' shtick for so long when I have you idiots breathing down my neck every other chapter! Actually, I'm a little surprised to see you again. Usually I encounter a different schmuck each time we do this."

"Don't speak too soon." Delsen snapped his fingers and waited. He snapped them again and waited. "Oh come on!" Delsen turned around and struggled to pull up Tog who was still meditating. "There we go! (pant, pant) With the two of us working together, there's no way you can win!"

"He…uh…he doesn't seem to be fully conscious, dood." Vic said.

Delsen attempted to wake Tog up but to no avail. "rrrgghh! Screw it! We'll do this the old fashioned way!" Delsen drew his rapier and charged the group head on.

Fleck brought up his sword, expecting to block the attack easily, however the second their blades met, a large shockwave erupted and knocked everyone back several feet. "Owwwww! What the hell!? You weren't that strong when we fought last time!"

"It's called holding back!" Delsen lunged at Fleck with his rapier making several thrusts at Fleck's abdomen. By some miracle Fleck managed to parry each of his attacks although it was clear who would win if the fight were to drag on much longer. "Not bad!" As Fleck parried another attack, Delsen twisted his blade and knocked Fleck's sword out of his hands. "But Not very good either."

"Try me, then!" Misha slashed at Delsen's back but missed, only scratching his suit.

"Agh! You bitch! This is pure velvet!" Delsen yelled.

"Haaaah!" Silo attempted to slam his axe onto Delsen's skull but was easily dodged. Delsen elbowed Silo in the jaw with his left arm as he turned to face him and slammed his head into the dirt with his right hand. Still pinning Silo down, Delsen then slashed his sword through the air, sending a wave of energy at Misha and knocking her down in the process. He then turned his head towards Vic who was standing alone with most of his friends still down. "Bo-!"

"Waaaaah!" Vic ran before Delsen could finish.

Silo managed to wrestle his head around and bit down on Delsen's finger, hard. Delsen recoiled backwards in pain. "Son of a-! Motherf-!" Delsen kicked Silo in the stomach before he could get up. "How does that feel assho-aaaggh!" Delsen was hit from behind, the entire back side of his suit being burned off. He turned around to see Mill with his staff pointed at him. Before he could react, Lyra jabbed the butt of her spear into Delsen's rib cage, knocking him back several feet. Soon after, he was greeted with a hail of arrows and ice spike courtesy of Neige, Celeste, and Alice.

"Grrrrr! Tog! Get off your lazy ass and help me!" Delsen yelled. A small glint appeared in Tog's eyes as the win began to shift randomly. "Finally…wait…" A small tornado was brewing around Tog which was expanding rapidly. "Whoa, man, tone it down a notch ok?" Not paying attention to Delsen, Tog unleashed the tornado in full force. In mere seconds, everyone was enveloped in a large hurricane with Tog at the center. "Friendly fire! Friendly fire!" Delsen yelled as he was tossed helplessly through the air.

"What's happening!? Gyaahh!" Fleck and the others tried in vain to get down.

Tog stood up and raised his staff. He waved it around in circular motions which seemed to changed the direction the winds were blowing. Eventually, he turned the hurricane into a large funnel that shot everyone out like a cannon towards a large cliff wall. Everyone, including Delsen, was slammed against the rocks as the fell down.

"Ahhh…great allies you've got." Fleck said sarcastically. "Oh crap, here he comes!"

As Tog approached, Neige and Celeste fired more arrows at him. However, Tog simply deflected them with a gust of wind. –San burst out of the rubble behind Tog and attempted to stab him from behind with one of his kunai. Tog, without looking, generated another mini-cyclone which blew the ninja backwards.

"nnngh!" Alice tumbled out of the rubble as she tried to face their opponent. "Damn this prinny body…d…dood. Damn it!" Alice tried in vain to resist saying dood as she muttered her complaints. She looked around and saw her frie- her colleagues at the mercy of Tog's magic. "Don't…don't count me out just yet." Her mind flashed back to her fight with fleck and the others in Hoggmeiser's castle, particularly her brief standoff with vic. "If he can do it then so can I…dood! Damn it!"

"Crap! How the hell are we supposed to…did it just get colder all of a sudden?" Fleck asked. He looked up and saw a giant Ice spike forming above their heads. He looked around and saw Alice holding up the standard prinny staff (a wooden stick with a skull on top) and channeling the massive spike. Standing behind her was an enlarged silhouette of her former self. "It's just like what happened with vic…"

"I will not be upstaged by anyone! Not by a half-baked ninja!" Alice yelled.

"H-hey…" –San meekly objected

"Not by a fourth rate thief!"

"Oh I am at least third rate!" Fleck yelled, offended.

"And especially not by a some two bit mage!" Alice pointed her staff towards Tog and the Giant Ice spike followed. Tog swung his staff again and drummed up another massive storm. While the wind's were powerful, they were only enough to turn the spike sideways. While Tog managed to avoid getting impaled he could not avoid getting slammed against the side of Alice's attack like a piece of dough getting stuck to a rolling pin. The spike rolled through the canyon until it slammed against another large rock. Tog fell face down in the dirt/ash, completely incapacitated. "Hell yeah! Six points you Tim Burton character design reject!" With that last taunt, alice fell on her back as well, the aura that surrounded her fading into the air.

"Damn it…I can't believe I lost again!" Delsen slammed his fist into a rock.

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot about you!" Silo yelled as he turned to face Delsen. However, he saw that Delsen had already retreated and was much farther away than anyone could reach. It's not that they were unable to, it's just that they were too lazy to run that far.

"I'll get you next time, you hear me!? Next Time!...Damn it all! I may as well just sign up for main villain instead of main character!" Delsen yelled as he ran away.

**With the Prince**

Krugis cut down the last zombie with a mighty swing. After a tedious clean up run and the usual process of Laharl stroking his own ego as Aramis (somewhat sarcastically) agreed to refer to Laharl as an Overlord, Krugis was ready to take a long awaited nap. He turned his head to see fleck and the others return from their detour. "What the hell happened to you? I thought you were just doing recon work?"

"I'd rather not talk about it now…" Fleck said, exhausted.

**Castle Lounge**

The clang of glasses being toasted rang through one of the castle's many employee lounges. "I guess we can chalk another point up for team Fleck! Hahahahaha!" Fleck laughed in a drunken stupor.

"Why didn't you guys tell me you were going on a secret mission!? I barely got any screen time since I joined up with you guys!" Gwen complained.

"I'm sure you'll get the spotlight eventually…Hey were are Vic and Alice?" Celeste asked. Now that she brought it up, there were barely any prinnies still in the room.

"Waiter! Waaaaiiiitooooo- OW!" Mill yelled for the prinny waiter that usually served them drinks only to meet with the floor boards as his chair toppled over.

"Maybe they set up their own private party!" Silo suggested. Celeste wasn't so sure…

**With Vic and Alice**

Vic was stuffing his bags with everything he ever managed to keep over the course of his most recent adventures. There was the cracked vase that he smashed over Fleck's head when they were in Vyer's castle. There was the torn and slightly singed feathers from when they first met Krugis. He even kept a small fragment of Alices staff from when it broke and caused her own spell to recoil mid-casting.

"You ready, dood." Alices uncharacteristically soft voice (for a prinny anyway) echoed from the doorway of Vic and Fleck's room.

"Yeah, dood. Just reminiscing." Vic said as he zipped up his bag.

"Won't be much longer now, dood." Alice said as she walked in and hopped up on Fleck's bed and looked out the slightly cracked window. She was soon joined by Vic and the two of them gazed up at the red crescent moon. "Once it's full, we'll finally be free, dood."

"Yeah…free…" Vic muttered almost sullenly.

**To Be Continued…whenever**

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

FLECK: Welcome and good evening fair residents of the netherworld

GWEN: oooh. We're going for a horror vibe this time! Sweet, I love scary stories!

FLECK: Shut up! We're in the middle of recordi-oof!

FLECK (now missing a tooth): Today I, you humble host, shall take you through an eerie little adventure as we explore the mystery of …The Netherworld butcher!

GWEN: seriously? How lame…

FLECK: shut up! I'm tired, you think up a better na-oof!

FLECK (now missing two teeth): Tho…it all thtarts with the murder of an innothent witch. The only clue is the word "Return" written in her own blood. Ath the bodieth pile up, will our heroes be able to catch the killer before they count themthelveth among the dead? Thtay tuned.

**Author's note**

Sorry I've been kind of dead lately. College and a new job keeps a man busy. Also sorry if you can't read that last paragraph but it shouldn't be that hard to figure out. TBH I didn't like how this chapter turned out but then again ,I never liked this particular episode in the game so that might have something to do with it. Anyway, I'm sort of contemplating jumping straight into the next chapter in the game or doing a side adventure that takes place between eps…Oh well, whatever I choose, see ya next time.


	9. Chapter 9

I'd just like to say that I've been really excited to do this chapter as it is one of my favorites from the game.

**Disgaea: Almost the Hour of Darkness**

**Chapter 8: Reincarnation**

_Red Moon_

_Red Moon_

_Cleanses the sinful and makes them anew…_

_Shining brightly in the night sky_

_Waiting for the souls_

_Who will be born again tonight?_

_Who will be born again tonight?_

**Laharl's Castle, Flonne's room**

The gentle melody rang through the halls of Laharl's castle. Most were able to ignore the song and simply continued to sleep. However, the ears of a certain angel were just a little too sensitive to ignore such a thing. "Hmmm….mm?" Flonned sat up in her bed, dreary eyed and sleepy. "Who would be singing at this hour?" Flonne searched the castle, following the music until she came to the front gates. Prinnies were leaving in droves across the drawbridge. Many of them carrying large bags or pulling carts with all kinds of items on them. "Prinnies? Where are you going?"

"Don't try to stop them." Flonne was stopped by a prinny in bright pink. "They were finally able to repent for their sins. The only thing we can do now is pray for their happiness in their next lives."

**With Vic and Alice**

"Isn't that miss Flonne, dood?" Vic said. He saw her and Big Sis Prinny talking to each other.

"Yeah, and?" Alice asked.

"Well…shouldn't we say goodbye?" Vic looked back again with uncertainty.

"It would just drag this out even further. Best to just get things over with." Alice continued to walk with the crowd. Vic took one last glance at the castle before joining the herd of his fellow prinnies towards their reincarnation.

**That Morning…**

"VIIIIIIIIIC!" Fleck called out. He screamed vic's name as he circled the courtyard. Most of the usual patrons left thanks to his constant yelling.

"Still can't find him, huh?" Silo stepped up to fleck, briefly earning reprieve from the ringing in his ears. "Now that I think about it, There doesn't seem to be that many prinnies around the castle at all."

"I don't get it, Silo. I've looked everywhere for him! I looked in the courtyard, I checked the hallways around the courtyard. I looked back here in the courtyard again…"

"Fleck, I don't really think you understand what the term 'everywhere' means." Silo pointed out. "Besides Vic's an adult…I think…He can take care of himself."

"That's the point Silo! He's a prinny. Prinnies can't take care of themselves. Hell, one sneeze could cause them to explode! He could be hurt, scared, alone…dead even! Or worse…" Fleck suddenly had a grave look on his face.

"Worse how?" Silo asked.

"Gwen might have him…"

**Just outside Gwen's room**

Fleck, along with Silo, Misha, and Mill were standing outside the lion's den. Fleck boldly stood in front of the door and then banged his fist against it. "HE-!" Before Fleck could even start, the door swung open, hitting him in the nose and knocking him down. "Oh god…I think you broke it!" Fleck clutched his nose in pain.

"What could you possibly want this early in the morning!?" Gwen yelled.

"Do you have Vic? We kind of need him to play a game of Parcheesi." Silo said, holding up the box.

"Can't you guys just use the tables in the lounge?" Gwen asked.

"Yeah but all of them are wobbly and imbalanced. We always have to find books to put under the legs to keep it stable." Silo whined.

"You know what? Either way it doesn't matter. I don't have him." Gwen was about to close her door before Fleck stopped her.

"Wait! If you don't have him then who does?" Fleck asked.

"How am I supposed to know? I'm sure he's running around here somewhere."

"But we've checked everywhere. Vic isn't in the castle…at least not in his usual spots." Misha said. "Actually, Alice isn't around either. The only prinnies we've seen so far are the ones that just came in last week."

"How can you even tell the difference?" Gwen asked.

"Well, it's not really us. It's just Fleck who notices."

"Oh, that makes sense. He's always had a sixth sense when it came to these things."

"Anyway, back to the prinnies…" Mill interjected. "The conditions here aren't exactly ideal but as long as Laharl hasn't cut anyone's paychecks I doubt they would just up and leave…unless…" Mill appeared lost in thought. "Is it that time already?"

Before anyone could say anything, the alarm sounded, calling all hands to the dimensional gate.

**Dimensional Gate**

Fleck and the others arrived and saw the usual chaotic mix of soldiers in the princes army however, almost all of them were missing their prinnies so they had to start carrying their equipment themselves. Eventually the found Celeste and her squad browsing some of the items in the rosenqueen branch before the mission started.

"Fleck!" Celeste called out. "Over here!"

"Hey, what's happening?" Fleck walked over with the others following close behind. Fleck saw Neige looking extremely ragged and jittery. Her long blond hair was more tussled than it usually was and a few buttons on her shirt were out of place. "What's up with you?"

"WHAT!? You've got something to say!?" Neige grabbed Fleck by his collar and shook him violently.

"Hey, hey that's enough. Neige, juts calm down okay? Chill." Lyra and –San managed to puller off of Fleck and got her to calm down.

"Sorry it's just…" Neige let out a heavy sigh. "There's this one Prinny named Julio who always made this amazing cup of coffee and I've gotten so used to it that I can't function properly in the morning without it…I'm a little on edge right now so…forgive me if I get…anxious." Neige said, shivering slightly.

"Right…" Fleck readjusted his shirt. "So what's going on?"

"The prince managed to locate the Prinnies. Apparently they're heading for the Lunar Snowfields. I didn't even realize it was already the time of the Red Moon. I would've organized a party or something." Celeste said.

"R…Red Moon." Fleck took the news hard. "But that means that Vic will be…" Fleck looked over to Gwen and saw that she was looking glumly down at the floor with her arms crossed.

"Reincarnated, that's right!" Celeste cheered. "They've definitely earned it…well most of them did anyway."

"So why are we chasing them?" Mill asked.

"He said something about his pride as an overlord." Lyra chimed in. "Honestly, if he just doesn't want them to leave then he should just say so. Right guys?" Lyra looked over at Gwen and Fleck and saw that they were looking down, literally and figuratively. "Guys! You okay?"

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! Just fine!" Gwen said, quickly. "Um…So, Reincarnation, huh? Great! I guess they're finally someone else's problem now, heheheh…heh…" Gwen started whistling to herself and avoided eye contact with everyone, much to their confusion. Her eyes drifted over to fleck who was still looking considerably depressed. "_Can't say I blame him." _She thought to herself. "_Still seems like yesterday when we first picked up the little guy off the street."_

_**Junk Town, several years ago**_

_I remember it was when Fleck and I first moved into Junk Town. We were still pretty young, especially fleck. It's hard to believe he used to be so tiny at one point. We had already found a place to stay and were looking for someone to take care of the house cleaning. Then we saw Vic standing there with several other prinnies holding a sign asking for a job. We didn't really care who we took so we just grabbed him, stuffed him in a bag and went ho-_

"_Sis, that's not how it happened." The present day Fleck appeared in Gwen's flashback._

"_Huh?" Gwen said, surprised. "Hey, how'd you get inside my flashback?"_

"_Not important right now. Anyway, that memory was how we found bosco, remember? The first prinny we hired? He was the one you blew up by hugging it too tight because you were using him as a stuffed animal when you went to sleep."_

"_Oh yeah! Then how did…Oh, now I remember! You and I were running around the junkyard when we found Vics peglegs sticking out of the debris. We pulled him out, took him home and that's when-"_

"_No, that's not right either." Fleck said._

"_Seriously?" Gwen said, now slightly frustrated._

"_That prinny was terry. You know, the one that used to be a serial killer when he was human? He tried to murder you in your sleep but you kicked him out of your window and into another group of prinnies. The resulting explosion leveled and entire city block and the fines almost bankrupted us."_

"_Oh yeah…then how did we meet vic?"_

"_You ordered a new center table for the living room but they sent us Vic by mistake. He had just graduated from Hades so he was scared out of his mind by us. He didn't move or speak for almost a year after we got him in the mail which is why we thought he was just a weirdly designed table. When he finally worked up the nerve to say something, you were so shocked you smashed a milk bottle over his head and screamed that the able was haunted." Fleck explained._

"_And that's how we got the idea to use him as furniture! It all makes sense now!" Gwen yelled triumphantly._

"_Oh and I should probably tell you, while you were lost in memory lane, we kinda left without you." Fleck said._

**Back in the real world**

"Huh?" Gwen snapped back to reality and looked around the empty hall. Everyone had left through the dimensional gate except for her. "But…I…How…Damn it, guys, wait for me!" She stormed off through the gate after her friends.

**Lunar Snowfield, Frigid Garden**

Vic sighed wistfully as he and the other prinnies continued their journey. They passed several tough looking creatures but none of the seemed interested in a group of wandering ex-slaves. "Reminiscing, dood?" Alice asked.

"mm-hmm." Vic said. "Just thinking about when I first met Vic and Gwen, dood."

"Oh, well in that case I don't care anymore." Alice continued to walk.

"Hey, I want to ask you, dood. What do you plan on doing when you reincarnate?" Vic asked.

"Hmmm…Maybe I'll open a restaurant. I've always wanted to do something that didn't involve fighting, dood. Or maybe I'll raise and army and take vengeance on everyone who ever wronged me. I still haven't forgotten you killed me, by the way." Alice replied. "What about you, dood?"

"I'll probably go back home. Try to reclaim my lands and rebuild my kingdom dood." Vic said.

"Your kingdom?"

"Didn't I tell you? I'm a former overlord."

A full minute passed before Alice could completely process the information. "WHAT!? You mean that was actually true!?"

"Of course! I wouldn't joke about something like that, dood!"

"But…you're so weak though, dood."

Vic's eye twitched. "I'm strong enough to kill you…"

"Oh…right…."Alice grimly remembered the ghostly figure that appeared behind Vic when they fought at hoggmeiser's castle.

"Still, dood, I guess I was pretty weak compared to other overlords. My influence wasn't nearly as far reaching as say King Krichevskoy or Lord Baal. But I still had a thousand vassals at my beck and call and I even had an arranged marriage set up with this hot kunoichi princess from a nearby ninja clan. Everything was going so well, dood!" Vic exclaimed at the good fortune he had until he was turned into a prinny.

"So what happened, dood." Alice pressed on.

Vic was silent for a while before finally speaking. "Zenon happened. Overlord Zenon."

"Zenon? I think I've heard that name before…" Alice said, thoughtfully.

"I heard that several overlords were joining forces to take down this one overlord called Zenon. I decided to offer my aid and assembled my army to join them. We rode for six days and nights before we finally caught up with the other overlords."

"What happened next?"

"The battle was a slaughter, overlords several hundred times my strength were vaporized in an instant. I barely contributed anything save for cannon fodder. Next thing I knew, I was stuck inside the body of a prinny and some vampire obsessed with sardines and his douchebag werewolf manservant were telling me I would be instructed on how to be a proper prinny."

"I see…" Alice said.

"That's not all. When I finally graduated and went back to my kingdom…My vassals were all…"

"Dead?"

"No, they all packed up and left dood. They found better jobs with the overlords that didn't get vaporized by Zenon. And my former fiancé had apparently eloped with a childhood friend of hers from her village, dood! And to add insult to injury, they bulldozed my castle and built a retirement home on top of it! I can't even reclaim my original home without looking like a complete asshole, dood!" Vic lamented his woes. "I swear, if I ever find out were overlord Zenon is I'm gonna…gonna…"

"Take vengeance?" Alice asked.

"What? No, are you kidding me, dood? Didn't I just tell you what happened to me the first time I fought him? If I ever find out where Zenon is, I'm going to the exact opposite end of the universe and set up my next kingdom there. I'm never crossing blades with him ever again, dood!" Vic yelled.

"You know, I just realized something. Lord Vic doesn't exactly sound like a good name for and overlord."

"That's because that's the name I decided to use when I became a prinny. My real name is Shuichi-"

"COME BACK HERE YOU UNGRATEFUL COWARDS!" Laharl's voice pierced the calm night air, explosions and fireballs following his wake. The previously docile demons suddenly rose and attacked Laharl's advancing army.

"What the hell, dood? Did he follow us here!?" Vic asked.

"That's our cue to run!" Alice said as she and all the others started to move.

"Will the others be okay? Why did these demons suddenly attack?" Vic yelled as he followed after her.

"Those demons are meant to guard prinnies that are ready for reincarnation. If any other demons enter this forest or if there are prinnies who aren't ready, the guardians would rise up and kill them or chase them out." Alice explained. "I'm sure the others will be fine, they've handled worse than what this forest can dish out."

**With Fleck and the others**

"There's no end to them!" Silo yelled as he split open another living stump with his axe.

"Jeez, why are they working so hard to protect a bunch of prinnnies!?" Mill yelled as he fired several energy blast from his staff.

"Krugis can you see anything?" Fleck asked.

Krugis was flying higher above the battlefield to try and find they're missing prinnies. "I see them! To the northeast!"

"You heard the man! Let's go!" Gwen yelled out.

"I'm surprised, sis. You're really this concerned about Vic?" Fleck asked.

"Of course I am! We just got our family back together, I'm not letting things end like this!"

"Gwen…" Fleck was greatly moved by his sister's words.

"Man…Now I can't back out after hearing that. I don't even have that much at stake here and I'm still getting pumped!" Lyra said.

"Watch out!" Krugis yelled, pushing Lyra out of the way.

"Huh? What?" Lyra looked around to see where the blast came from.

"We have company!" Neige yelled, readying her bow.

"Who is it?" Celeste asked.

"Who do you think?" –San replied, facepalming.

"Hahahahaha!" Delsen's laugh echoed through the forest. "You didn't think I'd miss a golden opportunity like this, did you?" Delsen was standing on top of a large dead tree with Tog and another woman who the others didn't recognize standing on two other branches beneath him. There were also a dozen other mercenaries ready to strike a few yards behind them.

"He has the worst timing I swear!" Fleck gritted his teeth.

"That's her!" –San yelled. "She's the brawler I told you about the other day! Her name is Yuko!"

"So she's another MC wannabe, huh?" Silo said. "Well bring it on! If we're lucky we'll be able to take them all out in one fell swoop."

Laharl and the other soldier engaged the mercenaries while Delsen, Tog, and Yuko made a beeline for fleck and the others. Mill, Celeste, and Neige engaged Tog at close range while Yuko fought Krugis, Lyra, and Misha. Delsen took on –San, Fleck, and Silo.

-San threw several Kunai at Delsen while Fleck and Silo took him on upront. Delsen deflected the Kunai and parried or dodged most of Fleck and Silo's attacks.

"When did he get his good?" Fleck asked.

"What do you think I do in between fights? Watch TV or something?" Delsen asked.

"Kind of…ooof!" Delsen kicked Fleck hard in the stomach, sending the young thief spiraling back. He then dodged Silo's attack and tripped him, causing the warrior to stumble into –San. "Too easy…"

"You're in our way!" Gwen yelled and slammed her fist down on Delsen's head. He barely managed to dodge her attack, her fist rupturing the ground as it made contact with the earth. "Damn! This little kitty has some spunk!" He continued to dodge her blows but it was becoming increasingly harder to do so. Eventually, however, one of her punches was blocked by the sudden appearance of Yuko.

"Huh? But if you're here then…" Gwen looked over to see Misha, Lyra, and Krugis unconscious on the ground, bruises all over their bodies. "You bitch!" Gwen continued her assault on Yuko, the two fighters being evenly matched.

"While you're buys with that…" Delsen went over to the unconious Fleck and drew his sword. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should." Delsen grinned. But something stopped him, the sound of a huge blizzard. "Hm?" Delsen looked up and saw a huge Icicle with two prinnies riding it sailing right towards him. "What!?"

"Prinny dood!" Vic yelled. The impact of the icicle caused a large shockwave throughout the area. "Prinnies to the rescue!" Just as Vic said this, he and alice were kicked aside by Delsen.

"Meddling little insects!" He seethed. "I'll take you out right now before you can screw anything else up!" Delsen brought his sword down on Vic, expecting it to slice right through, however, Vic's blades turned out to be much stronger than he anticipated.

"I…won't…let you…hurt them…dood." Vic yelled. Vic managed to shove Delsen back and take a few swipes at him with his daggers. Delsen avoided the first few but slipped on a rock, allowing Vic to land a few good hits on Delsen's suit. "Take that, dood!"

"This…This is a custom made suit you fool!" Delsen attempted to attack before getting blasted in the ribs by a block of ice. "Gah!..." Delsen swung his sword, a large wave of energy erupting from it, blasting Vic and Alice backwards. "You worthless scum!"

"Get away from them!" Gwen broke away from Yuko and punched Delsen hard across his jaw, sending him spiraling into a tree. However, Yuko took this opportunity to strike Gwen while her back was turned. Although Gwen managed to block the first punch, Yuko followed with a kick, which landed hard against Gwen's shoulder. A sickening crack was heard as Yuko Dislocated Gwen's arm. Gwen stumbled back and fell to her knees. The shock wearing off, and the pain setting in caused Gwen to scream in agony.

"Gwen!" Fleck yelled, too injured to get up.

Vic watched the even unfold with a silent anger bubbling inside him. He breathed deeply, feeling a strong urge come over him. A sense of bloodlust he hadn't felt in a long time. Before long, all he saw was red.

"Finally…I can just sit back and…huh?" Delsen looked to Vic who by now, had a large red eyed armored shadow standing behind him. "What the hell!? What's going on!?" Delsen took a few steps back. The air vibrated with malice. "That's a cute trick but it isn't going to work on me!" Delsen readied his sword to attack.

The Shadow raised it's right arm, a black sword materializing in its hand. Vic's prinny form lifted up the corresponding wing and swung forward, a wave of dark energy shot towards Delsen with relentless force. Delsen was thrown back by such a relentless show of energy. He felt something slice into him, something cold. It took him a second to realize that his arm, and his sword were flying in a different direction from the rest of his body. Too shocked to feel pain, Delsen simply lay on the ground staring blankly up at the sky.

"Now's our chance!" Mill yelled, a ball of star energy forming into his palm. He was about to shove it down Delsen's throat when Yuko kicked him off to the side. She took delsen in her arms and leaped backwards away from Vic. Tog landed next to her, Delsen's sword in his hand, and raised his staff. A large tornado formed around the trio, preventing anyone from approaching them.

Yuko stroked Delsen's still shocked face and looked at him with worry. Then she glared at the others, especially vic, and then nodded to Tog. The tornado intensified before finally dissipating, Tog, Delsen, and Yuko were nowhere to be seen.

The threat finally passed, Vic collapsed on the ground again, tired out of his mind.

Alice looked at Vic's unconscious form and smiled to herself. "I guess a weak overlord is still an overlord."

Vic slowly managed to wake up, slightly dizzy from the ordeal. "Did we win…dood?"

"VIC!" Fleck and Gwen both tackle hugged Vic into the ground, although Gwen was the one who ultimately managed to get her arms around him.

"Hey! I just healed you, don't start breaking any more bones!" Mill yelled.

Gwen squeezed vic hard to the point that his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. "NO! STOP! I don't want to end up like Bosco!" Vic yelled. This caused Gwen to stop and suddenly drop him.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and said "Sorry…"

Vic looked around and saw that everyone seemed alright. Lyra was helping Krugis stand up while Silo was tearfully hugging Misha who was patting his back. –San was stretching while Neige was restringing her bow.

"You guys never change at all, dood."

"Alright! Let's head back! I'm starving!" Gwen yelled.

"I'm not going back, dood." Vic said.

"What?" Fleck asked. "Wh-Why not?"

"Would all of you follow us? We have to make it to the peak with the others." Alice said.

"But we just got you back!" Gwen yelled.

"Please? I kind of want you to see this." Alice asked calmly. No one saw a reason to deny her request.

**The peak of a tall mountain**

The fighting eventually died down, with the prince finally calming himself to listen to what the cloaked spirits had to say. Big Sis Prinny spoke for the other prinnies and said to the prince, or rather to everyone in general that if they truly cared about someone, they had to be willing to let them go if they had to. Big sis prinny's form eventually faded away but the transparent form of a young human woman remained for the briefest instant. She smiled at Laharl before fading away.

Big Sis Prinny's words rang true for everyone. The mood was somber as they watched each prinny disappear one by one up to the read moon.

"I knew we'd have to deal with this eventually…I just didn't want to acknowledge it." Fleck said.

"Honestly, dood? Working under you was probably one of the worst experiences of my entire life! Every day I was either shot at, electrocuted, blown up, set on fire or used as furniture. But…despite all that…it was still one of the most fun experiences I've ever had. I just want to say thanks."

"We've had our ups and downs, but I wouldn't change a single part of it." Fleck said.

"Even though you're all technically responsible for my death, I'll admit, it was fun watching you guys run around the way you did." Alice said, clearly holding back tears.

Celeste simply picked her up and hugged her. "Just take care of yourself. Send me a postcard or something." Alice waited a moment before hugging back.

Eventually, Alice and Vic both stepped back and under the glow of the red moon, their prinny bodies started to fade. In their place, were see-through phantoms of their original bodies.

Alice's long blue hair and somewhat skimpy maid outfit blew gently in the wind. She smiled at everyone before fading away completely.

Vic's phantom was that of a tall Japanese man with his long black hair tied into a pony tail. He wore a long blue and black trench coat with an eastern design. He had armor on his legs and arms and you could see black clothing under the breaks in armor (Basically a blue recolor of the male samurai class). He smiled before yelling out. "I always wanted to tell you guys! My real name is Shuichiro Namatame. I'm sure we'll meet again someday!"

"I think I'll still call you Vic for short. Right Gwen?" Fleck asked but got no answer. "Gwen?" He looked over at his sister and saw that she had a slight twinkle in her eyes. "What the…?"

"He…is so…HOT!" Every ounce of seriousness was lost as soon as Gwen yelled out these words.

"Anyway, Don't hesitate to ask for a job when you come back. I'll keep spot open in the roster for you!" Fleck said.

"And I'll keep a warm bed for you to come home to." Gwen gave Vic…or rather Shuichiro a sly wink.

Sad, relieved, and just a little creepd out, Shuichiro began to float into the sky towards the red moon.

"Let us know the second you get your body back!" Silo yelled.

"You always made the best card table!" Mill waved his arms.

"I look forward to sparring with you someday!" Misha called out.

"Call me!" Gwen jumped up and down.

"I'll be waiting…" Fleck smiled as he saw his friend ascend to the sky.

When the last prinny flew off, the prince ordered everyone back to the castle. For the first time in a while, the prince's army was silent as they returned home, Sad but at the same time, a little at peace.

**Unknown Location**

"Not only did you lose but you lost to a Prinny?" the dark figure seethed in anger at Delsen, Tog and Yuko. "I honestly expected more from you."

"Considering what I just lost, I think I deserve a little more sympathy than what you're giving me." Delsen retorted.

"Hmm…perhaps you're right." No name held out his silhouetted hand and Delsen was lifted into the air along with his sword.

"Huh? Wait! What are you doing!?"

"I was just going to kill you but I'm feeling a little merciful today." Clenched his fist and Delsen screamed as he was condensed into a tiny sphere of energy. "Let's see if you can find your way out of the labyrinth that is the Item world." No name snapped his fingers and Delsen's sphere embedded itself into his sword.

Yuko watched in horror as the process was completed. As the sword fell to the ground, she leapt forward and caught it. She stared at the jewel in the hilt that used to be here leader and then glared at No Name.

No Name glared back in contempt. "What do you think you can do about it now? Would you rather join him?" Yuko's expression turned from anger to slight fear as she looked away. "You want to set him free? Then succeed where he failed. Hell, I'll even send help. Glaster will be arriving in the netherworld in a few weeks. Kill Fleck and his allies and maybe I'll consider letting Delsen go." No Name's silhouette faded leaving Yuko and Tog to themselves.

Yuko looked at Delsen's sword and held it close. Tog placed a hand on her shoulder and gestured for them to leave. Yuko nodded in agreement, strapped Delsen's sword to her back and followed Tog out of the forest.

**To be Continued**

NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW

FLECK: The years is 2355. Cybernetic enhancements have become commonplace amongst demons.

NEIGE: Ooooh. A cyberpunk-Noir theme? How…pretentious…

FLECK : The sprawling city of Neo Helheim is plagued with rampant crime, it's seedy underbelly ruled by a ruthless mob boss by the name of…Delsen…

NEIGE: Hey, you didn't us Krugis as the enemy this time. That's progress!

FLECK: The weak willed and easily bribed chief of police, Krugis, only worsens the situation with his ineffective leadership.

NEIGE: and progress is lost…

FLECK: Only one man has the chance to stop this widespread chaos. Fleck! And his plucky sidekick…(sniffle)

NEIGE: here we go…

FLECK: GAAAAAAH!

NEIGE: there there…it's okay…

FLECK (sobbing in between words): Next time on…(sniffle)…cyber detective netherworld Disgaea…Damn it I'm too sad to think of a snappy title!

**Author's Comments**

Heeeeeeyooooooo! After several months of laziness and college I've finally found a small window of time to actually write my story! Don't expect the pace to pick up anytime soon. Anyway. This particular part of the story in the game was a personal favorite of mine. I may have overdone it a bit on the drama but I still feel satisfied.

Also, I've reference a lot of other disgaea games like with Zenon and the oh so subtle description of Val and Fenrich.

If you're thinking these references don't make sense since well, they reference the sequels I always thought that the timeline of disgaea was a bit flexible. For example with Disgaea 4, we aren't sure exactly how long Valvatorez was the instructor at Hades. For all we know, he could have been there since the beginning of the first game and we just now tune into his story. As for Axel being the warden in D4 well…whose to say that Val hasn't seen the title of warden change hands from time to time? Anyway, that's all I wanted to say. See you in the next chapter whenever that is…


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